


The Saving Eliot Job

by D890MB279



Category: Leverage
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-06 04:57:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 52,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13403946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D890MB279/pseuds/D890MB279
Summary: What happens to the Leverage Team when ghosts of enemies past come out of the woodwork to haunt them?  What happens when the Team's hitter is taken from their grasp?  What happens when they go looking for him?  What happens when they find him?





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

 

Saving Eliot

Chapter One

_No One Knows What It's Like_

_To Be The Bad Man_

_To Be The Sad Man_

_-Behind Blue Eyes-_

_-The Who-_

Roughly 3:00 AM on September 7th, 2011 - A Wednesday

It was three in the morning and Eliot had just finished working out in his current safehouse's spare room, which he'd recently converted into a makeshift gym. He was in need of a shower, so he stripped off his sweaty white wife-beater, but left his jeans on for now. He ran his fingers through his hair and stretched his arms over his head to help ease the ache of his overworked muscles. He was hungry first, then he'd shower; then maybe he'd catch an hour or so of some much needed rest.

As Eliot walked into the large kitchen to forage some breakfast, he glanced out the large picture window over the sink area that looked out over the backyard. The storm outside seemed to be getting worse, he thought as he took in the rain spattered glass. He watched as the lightning flashed briefly and it seemed the wind was picking up as well. It was probably going to be a hell of a storm before it was finished.

Eliot had grown up in the Midwest and was no stranger to bad weather, especially thunderstorms. He'd been through a tornado or two living in rural Oklahoma, which was right up Tornado Alley. This weather was nothing to him, but he knew Bostonians may not feel the same about it. Eliot smiled broadly as he remembered a time when he'd been around thirteen and his mamma Mary, had found him standing on the back porch of their home watching the huge funnel cloud that was heading their way. He had just been standing there watching; the cloud had been so damned mesmerizing.

His mamma had been mad as a wet hen, his father had recounted later. When re-telling the story, Eliot's dad told of how she'd herded her eldest boy down the basement stairs and to safety. She'd given him hell for a month after that about scarin' the crap outta her and she'd threatened everyday to tan his hide if he ever did anything fool crazy like that ever again. He actually chuckled out loud at the memories of that month. It'd been hell; his mamma had been on him every minute of every hour.

Eliot could laugh now at the memory of just how upset she'd been at seeing him just standing there watchng the huge monster twister heading right for them. He knew his mamma was strength personified, but whenever a tornado came into the picture, the woman became a nervous wreck. Until that day, Eliot had not known that her father, his grandfather, had been killed while standing outside the cellar watching a similar storm cloud threatening his family.

The man had been swept away and he'd never been found. Eliot sobered at the thought of just how sad his mother must have felt at losing her father. She had been an only child and her father had been her hero; her white knight. That's what Eliot remembered his mother always telling him when she would talk about her father.

Eliot once saw the movie, _Twister,_ and couldn't help thinking the scene where Helen Hunt lost her father as a child was exactly how it must have happened for his mamma. He'd never watched that movie again.

He'd felt bad after that incident with his mamma and hadn't wanted to cause her to worry, so he'd sworn to her that he'd never be that reckless with his life ever again. At least Eliot had kept that promise to her for four years; right up until he'd lost her when a drunk driver had hit her car head on. That crash took not only his mother, but his younger brother Eli, and his baby sister Lizzie, as well. Eliot had lost a lot that day and he'd sworn he would never let that kind of hurt happen to him ever again.

He'd worked in his father's hardware store every day after that to try and keep his father from hittin' the bottle himself in an effort to squash the demons he saw every night when he closed his eyes. His father Jack, had taken his mother's death hard and it basically became Eliot's job to watch over himself and his remaining sister, his twin, Emma. She was older than him by all of two minutes, but she loved to remind him of the fact she was still the oldest.

Eliot had taken care of both his dad and Emma until he just couldn't do it anymore. Once he'd graduated from high school he joined the military and had gotten out of there. It wasn't home for him anymore. It had stopped being home the day his mamma took her last breath on this earth. He'd left everyone; his father, his sister, even Aimee.

He'd found out later that Aimee and her family had moved to Kentucky when her father had become a fairly sought after horse trainer. Eliot had seen her for the first time in eight years about three years ago when his team had helped her and her father with Baltimore and Kentucky Thunder. He'd done his best to let her know he was sorry he'd left her before, and he'd said his formal goodbye to her then. H'd done the best he coud do to make sure she understood it wasn't her fault, and he was moving on from that part of his life.

He'd also tried to make up for leaving his sister as well. Eliot tried to keep in touch with her more now; if you could call dropping an email or text every few months keeping in touch. Again, he was doing the best he could to mend things with his family; but there was still one person he had yet to deal with.

Eliot hadn't spoken to his father since the night he'd left his home to report for basic. He'd fought bitterly with the man that night and a lot of things were said between the two of them that Eliot knew could never be unsaid. He wished sometimes things could have been different with his father, but he had made peace with the fact he had tried hard to reach out to the man during the time after losing his mother. He had tried, he thought. He really had; it just felt like sometimes maybe he hadn't tried hard enough. Maybe someday he'd have a chance to try again.

He sighed as he turned from the window to reach into his fridge for the eggs and milk. Eliot wanted French Toast. He loved French Toast; his one indulgence of something sweet he allowed himself to enjoy. But this wasn't any gourmet French Toast; no this was the good old-fashioned bread soaked powder sugar ooey-gooey sticky messy French Toast his mamma had made every Sunday when he was growing up. No, it was nowhere near anything gourmet, it was just down home family cooking and he loved it because it reminded him of his mom and of home before things had all gone bad.

Eliot would never let anyone know, especially Parker whom he was always riding about eating her sugar coated cereals and downing fortune cookies; just how much he loved it. Hee felt under the circustances of his current memories invading his thoughts that he needed a good feeling, and so he neede French Toast.

Moving over to set the milk and eggs on the counter near the stove, he reached up into the cabinet for the bowl he like to use most often for mixing things; when he suddenly felt something wasn't quite right in his world. Call it a hunch or his spidey sense as Hardison had started calling it, but Eliot had been bred to know when something wasn't right. And with the way the hairs were standing on end on the back of his neck, he knew deep down it was bad; really bad. He slowly turned back to the window in time to just make out the soft glow coming from one of the trees in his backyard.

Just seconds before the window exploded from the bullets penetrating it, Eliot had one coherent thought. Oh shit; they'd found him. Then he felt the pull of the first bullet as it entered his body and he felt the slam of the second one as he was propelled backwards from the counter dragging the milk and mixing bowl with him as his body fell to the floor.

Eliot distinctly felt the pull of the bullets as they tore through his body pulling apart muscle and bone to lodge deep in his upper chest. He felt the wetness of the milk under his side as the milk bottle exploded when it hit the floor. At least he thought it was the milk. It couldn't be blood; not yet. As he felt his body still from his impact with the floor he was aware of another sensation; the bullets. Eliot could actually _feel_ the bullets inside him.

He knew he was in trouble, big trouble. He turned his head slowly to look up at the counter top where he'd set his cell phone down in his preparations of breakfast and knew in that instant there was no way he was going to be able to reach it. Eliot's last sight before the darkness claimed him were of the two men coming through his kitchen's back door armed with heavy assault weapons and wearing military gear. Yep, he thought; they'd definitely found him. They'd finally found Eliot Spencer.

Damn it, he should have completed the work on the house by installing the damned security system and the bullet proof glass on the kitchen's one window. Eliot had been too busy with the team's last few jobs going back to back, that he'd put the jobs off till he'd have more time; but now it was too late, he'd been discovered. He knew better than to let something like this happen. It was sloppy; he'd been sloppy.

Eliot watched as one of the men moved over to him as if in slow motion and kneel down by Eliot's head. The man seemed to be saying something, but Eliot was finding it hard to understand him at first.

"Hello Mr. White Hat..." The voice echoed in Eliot's head as he slowly gave in to the blackness that now claimed him body and soul.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly 6:00 AM

Nate Ford sat on the stool in McCrory's bar staring down at the glass of scotch cradled in his hands. It was taunting him, he thought. He had know that for him, today would be one of the hardest he'd have to deal with, but he'd always been able to lose himself in the bottle every year before.

Every year, he mused. Yeah, every year when this day rolled around he spent it knee deep in the nearest bottle he could find. Today it was the scotch. He frowned at the amber liquid, and heaved a deep sigh of desperation.

Today was the anniversary of the day Nate's life had been changed forever. It was five years ao today, September 7th. Five years since Nathan Ford had lost his son; five long years since Sam had died.

Nate knew his team wanted him to stop drinking, especially Sophie and Eliot, but they didn't understand just how much this sweet slow burning goodness kept him functioning from one day to the next. They didn't understand that he needed to keep going. They didn't understand how hard it was to face his demons every single day. The didn't understand how drinkng really did help no matter how dependent he had become on this crutch in a bottle. They just did not understand.

It had been almost a year since the group had put Damien Moreau away on that job they'd done for the Italian, and they were just coming off the job of helping Sterling of all people; that ass of a human. Nate chuckled lightly to himself as the thought of James Sterling. The man had used them, but Nate could understand after finding out the man had done it for his daughter. She was young; but she was older than Sam would have been if he were alive. Thirteen; Sam would have been thirteen this year.

A teenager with nothing to worry about other than school and girls. But Nate had been robbed of seeing his son grow into a man by Ian Blackpoole and all of those other asses at IYS. Nate had to shake himself to force the images of that man from his brain. The last thing he wanted to think about today was the man responsible for taking his son away from him. He turned to see the sun was just beginning to come up outside the bar's front windows. He looked down at his wristwatch. A little after six in the morning; a brand new day. A nice day considering the storm that had passed through a few hours earlier. This day promised blue skies and falling leaves and the last throes of a late summer. Yet it was still the anniversary day of his son's death and that alone took away all the beauty he should have felt for a new day.

God he wished Sophie was here right now; or Eliot. Sophie would guilt him through this day and Eliot would goad him through it. Sophie was forever pushing the bottle out of his reach any way she could and Eliot would just sit there next to him and give Nate that look and that growl that told him he needed to face this day instead of hiding in a stupid bottle of overpriced alcohol when a beer was better than that stuff any day.

But Sophie had been tired from a long day of scouting out the mark on their new job, and Eliot... well, El had said he needed a few hours of downtime to recoup from the back to back jobs they'd taken on lately. Neither were here to push Nate away from this glass in front of him.

It was no secret to the team that during the weeks leading up to and sometimes after Sam's death anniversary that Nate tended to either lose himself in the bootle or get deeply involved in a job. The team didn't seem to mind the work, it kept them all on their toes, but Sophie had been a bit more subdued lately. More so than usual it seemed. Especially since they'd come out with their relationship to the rest of the team. They'd both enjoyed their secret time, but they knew team needed to know what was going on in case it ever became a problem during a job.

So far it really hadn't, but that didn't stop them from focusing in on the fact that Nate was a little more protective of Sophie than before. Nate smiled though, as he thought about that. Sophie had become very important to him and that only meant she'd become more important to the team. Knowing now that Nate's attention could be easily diverted if something happened with Sophie put the others all on a higher alert to make sure the jobs didn't turn bad.

And they'd all done their very best to protect both Nate and Sophie without really showing that's what they were doing. Especially Eliot. Eliot, Nate thought with a smile. The man was so deep it was scary. To most people, they didn't look much past his gruff exterior, but his team - no, wait - his _family,_ knew him to be the most fiercely loyal member of their team. Eliot found himself to be their protector and he took that role very seriously. Sure he'd lied to them, by omission about his connection to Damien Moreau, but he'd done so to protect them. He'd known exactly what Moreau was capabe of doing to them, so he'd done his job. He'd protected them for as long as he could.

No matter what the odds, Eliot would throw himself on the gauntlet everytime if it meant his team walked away safe and sound; and they were always safe as long as Eliot was there to watch their backs. Nate looked down again into his drink as he mused over the way Eliot, as well as Parker and Hardison, had now sort of become his kids, so to speak. Nate was responsible for their being a part of the team now even if he hadn't been the one to select them in the beginning. He was just as protective of them and he really took his role as a father figure to them to heart. They had needed him just as much as he had needed them, in the beginning, but now... well, now Nate Ford knew he couldn't go on without them in his life.

He smiled again, somewhat sardonically as he slowly realized that he may have lost Sam, but he would always have the memories of his son and in some ways he now had two more sons... and a daughter. A crazy bunch, but family none the less. He slowly pushed the drink aside as he reached for a coffee cup instead. He thought maybe he just needed to start his day with coffee instead as he looked again outside the window to see that the sun was slowly beginning to stream into the bar.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Still Roughly 6:00 AM

Detective Captain Patrick Bonanno looked around the mess of a crime scene as he slowly followed one of his CSI guys through the house. It was a shambles. The car bomb on the Chevy pickup truck that was now mostly in pieces in the attached garage had also reeked havoc on the house itself.

The living room of the home which was on the garage side had probably sustained the most damage he'd ever seen at a bomb site. The wall that shared the living room space with the garage was gone. Literaly gone. The front bay window was blown out and the wood framework hung in pieces letting the rain outside slowly seep into the room's carpeting. The storm was mostly easing up now as dawn approached and two of his men were busy putting up a tarp to try and preserve as much evidence as possible from the rain.

But it was the kitchen that showed the most evidence that something really bad had happened in this home. The huge picture window over the sink area showed the evidence of two bullet holes and there was a huge blood pool on the floor below the area. He guessed there had to be at least two or three pints on the floor. That was a lot of blood for someone to lose and still be alive, he thought. He didn't know his math that well, but he knew 40 percent of your body's blood was too much to lose and expect to survive.

There were smear marks as if the person who had been injured had either tried to crawl to safety or perhaps had been dragged towards the living room to get to the adjoining door to the garage. The smear continued across the carpeting from the kitchen's stone flooring, but it ended just at the door.

The steps down into the garage held some droplets of blood, but no more smears were found. Whoever made it this far had either been lifted or had somehow been able to regain his footing and the detective felt very strongly that this injured person could not have possibly been able to do that on his own.

He firgured the person may have tried to make it to the truck in an effort to escape whatever danger was after him, but the detective knew the person hadn't made it past these steps on his own and therefore he could not have triggered the pressure device found on the bomb on his own. There was evidence that someone had died in the bombing though, and if it had been the injured man, then he was certaily dead now, because the garage was painted with the remains of someone. Blood, bone and tissue clung to all surfaces out there as well as some bits that had blown into the living room when the wall had basically disappeared during the blast.

Det. Bonanno knew someone had helped the victim to the truck and they had somehow triggered the bomb remotely. While there was a lot of carnage, his CSI guy David, was adamant that there was only one victim based on what evidence he'd collected so far.

He sighed as he took in everything his guy was telling him and pointing out about what he felt actually occurred in this house. The victim had been shot in the kitchen as detailed by the bullet shattered glass window and based on the blood loss, he most likely expired there. From there the body had been moved to the garage and placed in the truck; Eliot Spencer's truck.

Bonanno sighed again as he took in the carnage and the reality that most likely the remains were those of his friend, Eliot. He reached into his pocket as he carefully made hs way outside into the early morning just as the sun was working on breaking through the dense clouds.

"Ford here." Came the somewhat laid back reply.

"Nate? It's Det. Capt. Bonanno."

"Det. Capt.? This must be all business if you're announcing yourself as a cop before you even say good morning, Pat."

The detective heaved another heavy sigh that could clearly be heard through the phone. "Yeah, so it would seem this is all business."

"What can I do for you then, Det. Capt. Bonanno?" Nate asked as he wondered why the man would be calling him this early.

"Actually... I think I'm gonna need you to come to me. I'm at a crime scene and I need you to answer some questions for me." He paused as he looked towards Eliot's garage. "Some hard questions."

Nate took that in. He knew something was wrong; something bad had happened. He felt it in his bones, and what's more he knew one of his family was involved. "Which one is it?" He asked afraid of hearing the answer.

The detective wasn't surprised that Nate would know instinctively this involved his team. "It's... it's Eliot." He drew in a deep breath before he continued. "I'm at his house on Wallace Lane... and it's... it's bad, Nate."

Nate swallowed at the lump suddenly developing in his throat. Not Eliot. Of all his team, his family, Eliot was the last one he could handle losing right now. The man was supposed to be invincible and if he went down then Eliot had went down hard; and it was highly possible once he went down that hard, he wasn't going to get back up again. Not today, God, he prayed. Of all the days, not today. "Is... is... how... how bad?" He managed to ask, although he feared the worst, he continued to pray.

Patrick Bonanno looked up at the new late summer morning dawning as the birds were chirping away in the nearby trees. Eliot had a lot of trees on his property, he thought as he ran this through his mind. "It's... it's as bad as it gets." He replied. "It seems Eliot was attacked and shot early this morning and somehow his truck was blown up in the process. It looks like it was rigged with explosives beforehand. It seems he's... well, he's dead, Nate."

"I'll be there in five." Nate Ford replied softly as he felt that familiar pain in his heart again. Five years ago Nate had lost his son to cancer and today he'd lost another to his past. Someone had taken Eliot from him and he didn't know if he could handle another hit, not today. "I'll be there in five minutes." He repeated as he hung up his phone and slipped it back in his pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

_No One Knows What It's Like_

_To Be Hated_

_To Be Fated_

_To Telling Only Lies_

Same day 6:30 AM

Nate slowly pulled up to the location of Eliot's house and parked his Mercedes behind the SUV he knew was Detective Bonanno's. He sat for a moment taking in all the squad cars and other official looking vehicles parked all along the street in front of the house. He didn't want to do this, he thought. He could see the house was missing the garage from where he sat, and there was a lot of damage to the yard as well as the driveway. There was still a fire truck parked haphazardly in the driveway and the crew was working on pulling debris from what was left of the garage.

He couldn't believe the amount of damage he was seeing; whoever had done this had been a professional. They had wanted to create chaos and damage, but not too much damage. Whoever had done this had wanted this to be seen and reported to the police; and Nate knew that could only mean they wanted the cops and possibly him and his team to know Eliot was dead.

He didn't want to believe that, but he couldn't see how anyone could have survived this blast from the damage he was seeing. He didn't think he could go into that house; didn't think he could stand to see what he might see. This was Eliot's place, and he was the most private person on the team. He would hate seeing all of this going on at his place, safe house or not. Eliot would be pissed that the detective was letting so many people walk through his house even if it was now a crime scene.

Nate knew they wouldn't find much personal stuff in the house though. Eliot didn't keep much in a safe house other than essentials. None of them did. They all had apartments in the building Hardison owned over the bar and they kept a lot of their personal things there. Close to Nate; close to home.

He slowly got out of his car pocketing his keys and walked up to the detective who was standing outside on the front porch inspecting what was left of the front window. Nate hadn't realized just how much damage the house had actually sustained. He'd been so focused on what was left of the garage that he'd missed the damage done to the rest of the place. The bomb must have created a lot more damage on the inside from what he was seeing here on the outside.

"Hello Nate." The detective greeted him. "I'm sorry I had to call you on this." And Nate knew he meant it. He knew that Nate and his team handled jobs that were not entirely above board as far as legal went, but he also knew that they did a lot of good in this world and he truly hated having this conversation with the mastermind, especially about Eliot; but he needed answers if he wanted to find out who was behind this and… well, he needed to be sure they could put Eliot to rest.

"Hey detective. What exactly happened here?" Nate asked, trying hard not to focus on the remains of the window and the living room that he could see from where he was standing next to the policeman.

"We're not really sure. All I know is pretty much what I told you on the phone. My CSI guys discovered some broken branches in one of the trees in the backyard. They think a sniper was sitting in the tree waiting and fired through the kitchen window once Eliot came into view. He was shot and somehow he made it to the garage where his vehicle blew up. I've got other officers canvassing the neighborhood, but with the houses spaced so far apart out here, not many heard or saw anything." The detective answered pointing to the closest house across the street. "The Wilsons there are the only close neighbors and they're both in their eighties. They know Eliot as well as one can, and they love the boy in fact. He does a lot to help them out. Mrs. Wilson is convinced Eliot is a saint." He chuckled as he remembered her statement when he'd questioned the couple just barely ten minutes ago. "But they're both going deaf and they didn't hear anything until they saw the fire and that's when they called the fire department. That was around five this morning." He said reading from his notepad.

"Your guys are sure that it was a sniper in the trees?"

"Yeah. There were broken branches and debris."

Nate looked at the other man. "The storm could have caused the broken branches, how can you be so sure it wasn't from the storm?"

"Because they found some distinctive scrape marks that they think were made by boot spikes like a repairman wears to scale telephone poles. They found them on only one tree and that tree has a perfect line of sight to the kitchen and can still be hidden in the shadows during the dark early morning hours."

"Okay." Nate paused as he thought that over smiling to himself at the detective's use of the word distinctive; Eliot's word. "You said there was evidence of a body, where is it?" He looked around and he didn't see the coroner's van anywhere. "Has it… it been… has it already been taken away?"

The detective sighed again as he realized just how hard this was going to be. He didn't want to be the one to have to tell the man about… the body. "There is no body, so to speak."

Nate quickly turned back to look at the detective. "What… what do you mean… 'no body'? There has to be a body if your sure it's Eliot."

"We don't have a body." Detective Bonanno repeated. "We have…remains." He watched Nate closely as he spoke. "The bomb… well, the bomb scattered the remains all over the garage. We have blood, bits of bone; some large pieces, some hair and a couple of teeth have been found. We'll be running DNA on the blood and hair and we'll do a dental comparison on the teeth, but that's all we really have to work with. We've bagged his toothbrush and hairbrush to run DNA comparisons, but it would help if you have his dentist and his personal physician so that we can contact them for blood samples and dental x-rays." The detective took in how Nate's face quickly paled at what he was being told. "I need to know if you were working any current jobs that could have put the man in danger. I know he has a past and I'm gonna need a list of anyone who could be after him for any reason." He watched as Nate slowly nodded. "Look, Nate… I know this is hard and I don't want to raise any hopes here, but there is the possibility…" He didn't want to get the man's hopes up, but he couldn't shake his feelings that what he was seeing was what had actually happened.

"What? What possibility? Are you trying to say it might not… it might not be Eliot in there?" Nate asked pointing to the garage.

"I just don't get any good feelings about this whole thing. There is evidence that Eliot could not have gotten to the garage on his own; he had help. That means to me that there was more than just the sniper. The guy in the tree takes Eliot out, but someone else was in the garage or house and they moved him. I just feel that whoever blew up this house wanted the scene found. They wanted an investigation. I think someone wants us to _think_ Eliot Spencer is dead."

Nate took that in. "Then that means if he's still alive, he might not be for long." He ran his hands through his hair as he took that in. "Because anyone who wants to kill Eliot wants to do so slowly. He's made a lot of enemies over the years and most will not want him dead right away." Nate though about everything he knew about Eliot. "But then again, he has just as many enemies that wouldn't hesitate to kill him right away because they know how dangerous it would be to keep the man alive. If he's alive, there is the chance he will get free, it's what he does. And if he gets free then no one, not even God would be able save them from Eliot's wrath."

Nate prayed that Eliot was still alive, but he knew the odds were against that. The man just had too many enemies and since the Damien Moreau job, Eliot had confided a bit more to Nate about who and what might still be out there looking for him. He didn't know everything about the man, but Eliot had told him of a couple suspects that would stop at nothing to kill him.

"That's what I was afraid of." The detective seemed to take all the information in. "Well first things first. We determine if this is Eliot. If it is, we work the case as aggressively as possible to find his killer or killers. If it's not Eliot then… well then we bust our asses to find him as soon as possible. For his sake as well as his captors, I imagine."

"How soon can you find out if the… the remains are Eliot?" God, Nate thought, he hated saying the word 'remains', but he needed to know one way or another.

"I have the M.E. working this as a priority; as a favor to me. I have a lot of favors I plan on calling in on this if necessary. Eliot was my friend, Nate and no matter what he was before I met him, he will always be my friend. I'm not leaving this alone."

Nate smiled slightly as he thanked the detective. If Eliot only knew how much people believed in him then maybe he'd get it through his thick head just how good a guy he really was. Or is. Nate refused to think of Eliot in the past tense until the M.E. proved to him that Eliot really was gone. No if there was any chance in hell, Nate knew Eliot Spencer would still be fighting and not letting anything keep him down.

"I'll get you the name of the doctor we've used in the past, but can you try and keep it out of the system for as long as possible? I mean, if he is alive, we don't need someone coming after him through the police. In case you haven't noticed, cops ask too many questions." Nate said with a soft laugh. "And you'll let me know the instant you know whether or not it's Eliot?"

Detective Bonanno chuckled at Nate's statement. "I will. And I'll do my best to keep things as confidential as possible, but I'm not sure how much I can keep out of the M.E.'s report."

"I'm not worried too much about that right now. First I have to handle this as if Eliot is out there alive and in need of our help. After that if he's really gone, it won't matter anymore what the cops find out."

"And if he's alive?" The detective kept his voice low as they talked. He knew what the dangers were to the man if he was alive, but he needed to be sure Nate didn't act alone on this.

Nate looked up at the detective. "If Eliot is alive, I will do whatever is necessary to keep him that way. I will do whatever is necessary to keep his secrets. Make no mistake, detective, friend or no friend, I will put Eliot before everyone on this and I will do whatever I have to do to get him back."

The detective simply nodded in understanding. And he did understand; he knew he'd do whatever it took to help the mastermind secure Eliot's safety whether it was from the bad guys…or the good guys.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Somewhere in Eliot Spencer's past_

_"_ _Eliot Hayden Spencer! You get your butt out here right now!" Jack Spencer yelled as he searched the field and surrounding area for his son. Damn it to hell, he thought. That boy was gonna get it when he found him. Hell Jack was gonna get it when his wife, Eliot's mother found out what he'd gone and let his son get away with doing. They were both gonna catch holy hell for this. "Eliot! Come here right now!"_

_Eliot sat huddled in the hay loft of the old barn on his Uncle Web's ranch as he listened to his father calling out for him. He was in so much trouble. He'd done bad and he knew his dad was gonna whoop him good, but he didn't regret it. Not one bit. He'd had so much fun! Man, he thought, it had been the best ride of his life!_

_He'd ridden that horse as if the devil himself was after him, but it had been so worth it! Eliot rode like there was nothing in this world that mattered but him and the horse. Jasper; he'd started calling him that when his Uncle had bought him and brought him to the ranch two weeks ago. His Uncle had gotten a good deal on the demon of a horse 'cause he wasn't broke in yet and none of his uncle's hired hands had been able to do it yet. Eliot had been watching as three of his uncle's best men had tried their hand at it that morning and they'd all failed._

_No one could ride him, but Eliot knew in his heart he could. He could feel the horse calling to him, watching him as Eliot sat on the corral fence watching him in return. He'd begged his uncle and his dad to let him in the corral to just try and calm the horse; just get acquainted with him. Finally they'd agreed albeit reluctantly._

_But when Eliot had been able to get the horse to calm down, to look at him, Eliot had quickly thrown his twelve-year-old frame onto the back of the beast and he'd rode him hell bent for leather. The horse tried everything to get Eliot off, but he'd hung on. And once on the horse, no one could get close enough to stop them._

_Jasper had managed to jump over the corral's fencing and he'd taken Eliot for the ride of his life. He'd hung on and he'd felt like nothing else mattered except that moment. That one moment when he was one with the horse. He'd thrilled at the wind rushing past him, pushing his already growing longer than his mamma liked hair back from his face and he'd urged Jasper on harder and faster. Then it happened._

_The horse has stumbled and had gone down taking both himself and his young rider down too. Somehow by some miracle, Jasper hadn't been injured other than a cut on his hindquarters, but Eliot hadn't faired as well._

_His Uncle Web had been more worried about the horse than Eliot. He'd broken his arm in the fall, he knew it and he was worried about how much trouble he'd be in as his Uncle turned to face him so he'd ran. He knew his Uncle would never hurt him, but his daddy would and he didn't want that. He hadn't meant to hurt Jasper, he'd just wanted so badly to ride him and he knew in his heart that Jasper had been waiting for him to be the one to ride him._

_Eliot sat now in the hay loft cradling his injured left arm to his chest as he listened to his father calling out for him. Damn he was in so much trouble. But he knew his dad was really the least of his worries. It was his mamma who was the real threat. The one he was the most worried about and not because she'd whoop him too, but because she would be so disappointed in him for not listening. Eliot knew his mamma would kill his father for letting him in the same place as a wild mustang and then she'd blister his backside for getting hurt._

_Yep, he thought. He was so dead. Eliot Hayden Spencer was for sure and most certainly dead._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly almost 8:00 AM

"Did you do it?" The man sitting in the sidewalk café just down the street from McRory's bar spoke into his cell phone. His deep accent would have clearly been noticed if anyone was sitting near him, but considering the time of morning, he was all alone.

The man reached out to grip his coffee cup and raise it for the waitress's attention to bring him a refill. The service here really wasn't up to his taste, but he wanted to be as close to the bar as possible without being detected.

"Yes." Came the male voice on the other end. "Everyone knows that Eliot Spencer is dead. He died in his truck in his garage when an assassin planted a bomb on his vehicle. He is no longer a threat."

"Good. See to it that's how it stays. I don't want anyone asking questions before… well before we're done here. I've got my eye on the bar and we can rest assured that the others will be easy to eliminate if need be now that their protector is out of the way." The man stopped speaking as the waitress came over and refilled his cup. Once she'd moved on, he spoke again. "I will meet you back at the warehouse in a few hours to begin the next part of our plan. I want to handle that part myself. I want to be the one to make sure Eliot Spencer stays dead. I owe him that much for what he and his team have done to my family."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

_But My Dreams_

_They Aren't As Empty_

_As My Conscience Seems To Be_

Same day roughly 8:30 AM

Nate opened the door to his apartment to find the other members of his team already assembled in the living room waiting for him. He'd contacted Hardison on his way back and had him contact the girls so they could all meet him here. He had only told Hardison they needed to meet to plan a new job. He'd neglected to tell him that the new job was to find Eliot.

He would have to tell them what he knew, but he wanted to do it face to face with all of them so he only had to go through it once. Because if he wanted to find out who had done this to Eliot, then he needed all of them to know what was at stake and they needed to work together as fast as possible; they were already a man down on this job.

"Hey man, I got us here as fast as I could. You said it was important so I told them to get here asap." Hardison stated as he watched the mastermind walk into the room and toss his keys on the kitchen bar's countertop.

"Yeah, it's important. "He said as he turned to face the three. "We don't have much time and we…" He couldn't finish the sentence. He'd held back his emotions for as long as he could, but once he saw his team he knew he was going to have a hard time keeping up a strong front. He'd wanted to believe Eliot could still be alive, but realization was hitting him hard suddenly.

"Nate, what's wrong?" Sophie immediately got up from her seat at the table in front of Hardison's monitors and she quickly walked over to him. She could see that something was bothering the man. His whole demeanor was giving her a bad feeling. She knew that today was the anniversary of his son, Sam's death. He always closeted himself away on this day; he never lost his composure though. He never let his sadness show in front of the team. Then something hit her. "Nate, where's Eliot?" She saw the shadow that passed over the man's face before he quickly tried to hide it. "Nate? Where _is_ Eliot?" She suddenly felt something akin to panic beginning deep in her chest as she took in the fact that their hitter was missing.

"Nate, man…where is El?" Hardison quickly took in the way Nate seemed to be struggling with his emotions as he turned away from their prying eyes.

Parker, who was sitting on the back of the couch facing them, quickly sensed too that something was all wrong here. She may not understand human nature completely, but she'd come a long way with this team. Her family as she'd begun to think of them and she knew something was wrong when Nate tried to avoid their questions. "Something bad has happened to Eliot, hasn't it? Nate, tell me he's okay." The last word came out a little shaky as she too fought the panic she felt suddenly rising inside her.

"Nate! Tell us where Eliot is!" Sophie reached out and grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around and look at her. "Tell me right now!"

Nate looked at her and he couldn't help it when a single tear fell from his eye. He had to tell them what he knew. He had to; it was just hard to say.

"Nate!" Parker practically screamed at the man. "Where is Sparky?"

Nate jumped at Parker's outburst and then he took a deep breath. "Eliot's…dead." He managed to get past the lump in his throat. "There was an explosion at his safe house on Wallace Lane. Detective Bonanno called me early this morning and I met him there."

He took another deep breath as he watched Sophie let go of his arm and take a step back from him. He could see Hardison's mouth drop open and he watched as Parker slowly slid off the back of the couch and walk over to Sophie who gathered the young woman in her arms pulling her in like a mother comforting her child. He could see the tears she was trying to keep at bay brimming in her eyes.

"Not El. He can't die. The man is…he's…he's freakin' immortal, man. Eliot can't be dead." Hardison couldn't imagine a world without their hitter. The guy was indestructible. He always came back from a job. Always.

"Someone shot him through his kitchen window and then placed a bomb on his truck to destroy any evidence. There…there isn't even a body. There's just…" Nate's voice trailed off.

"Just what?" Parker asked. "If there isn't a body, then Eliot isn't dead. You have to have a body to be dead. And besides Eliot can't die like Hardison said. He always comes back to us. He would never die on us. Never." Parker knew she sounded childish even for her, but she couldn't help it. It was the only way she could get it across to them that she knew Eliot couldn't be dead. She felt Sophie softly stroking her back and she calmed down a little from this simple gesture.

"Parker, they found his…his remains."

Sophie looked up sharply at that. "What? What does that mean? There's nothing left…of…of our Eliot?"

Nate couldn't answer. He simply nodded yes as he took in his team's reactions. He hated himself for having to be the one to tell them, but he didn't want them finding out from anyone else. They were a family, his family and he needed to protect them. He needed to do what Eliot would want him to do as far as they were concerned.

"But…but that…that doesn't mean that it's Eliot. Maybe it's someone else. Like maybe Eliot killed his attacker and that's who's in the…the remains." Parker sniffed as she replied. That made sense, Eliot wouldn't go down easy, and he would take out the killer. He just would.

"Then where is Eliot, Parker? He's not at his house. He's not here. He hasn't tried to contact us. Even if he was hurt, Eliot knows we'd drop everything and come for him. He knows how to contact us without anyone finding out. So where is he?" Nate asked even though he really wasn't trying to hurt Parker. He was just as upset as she was, but he had to face the reality here. He had tried on the drive back to rationalize the remains found as not being Eliot, but it all came down to where was Eliot if he was alive?

"Maybe he can't contact us! Maybe he's hurt and can't!" Parker came back at Nate. "Maybe he's out there somewhere hurt and alone and he needs us to just find him!" She didn't want to listen to anything that made her even think about no more Eliot like ever.

Nate reached out and pulled the young thief towards him as he wrapped his arms around her. At first Parker resisted. It was one thing to allow Sophie to mother her, but she wasn't used to Nate comforting her. She couldn't deny however, the fact that his touch was just as comforting as Sophie's. She buried her face in his shirt as he gently stroked her hair.

"I'm sorry Parker. You're right." Nate said between looking down at the young girl and the other two in the room. "We'll just go with the facts for now, but not accept Eliot's gone until we get the official word from the detective."

"We…we will?" She asked looking up at him.

"Sure. I gave Detective Bonanno the contact info for Dr. Navaro that we've used in the past. He'll be discreet and he won't tell the detective anything he shouldn't. He can't anyway. Doctor patient confidentiality prohibits discussing anything about Eliot's actual care. He'll just supply his blood type and sample DNA to run against the samples found at the scene. Then if the DNA matches we'll know for sure." He said as he continued to hold onto Parker. He reached out with his free hand and pulled Sophie into his other arm to hold onto both women. He would try his damnedest to make sure that he was there for them.

"And if they don't get a match?" Hardison asked softly.

Nate looked at the hacker. "If they don't match, then we are gonna find our hitter and we are gonna find him wherever he is." He said.

"Yes. If the DNA doesn't match then we stop at nothing to get our Eliot back here with us." Sophie added.

Nate smiled at her determination. He smiled at all of them. They stood there as a team and Nate knew they would find answers and then they'd find Eliot and God help him, but he knew that none of them would stop until they had what they wanted. Eliot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Somewhere in Eliot Spencer's past_

_"_ _Spencer! What the hell are you doing?" Came the caustic demand of Eliot's training sergeant._

_The man was looking at Eliot like he had no brains whatsoever. Eliot knew that the man's job was to make his men feel like idiots, but Eliot was not an idiot and he hated being made to feel like one. Sergeant Whitmore may be his training sergeant and he may be trained himself to treat the men under his command as idiots, but Eliot Spencer was not going to take this. Even in the Army. No, he was not gonna be called an idiot._

_Eliot hadn't signed up to be treated like an some freakin' moron or as a pack mule. He'd joined up to make a difference. To make up for what was lacking in his life. He'd joined up because that's what the men in his family did. That and to get out of that small town he'd spent his entire life in. Where he was beginning to suffocate from the way his life had turned into one day after the next of the same damn thing. Over and over again. He'd joined because he wanted to be able to breathe._

_"_ _I asked you a question Spencer! What the hell were you doing out there?"_

 _"_ _Sir, I was thinking that it would be better to actually try and save the victims here before we destroyed the target. These people needed to get to safety first, Sir." He added that last sir with a bit of sarcasm as he stood nose to nose with the man. "This whole mission seems to have been going downhill anyway, so I thought it best to salvage what I could and get innocent people out of the line of fire."_

 _"_ _You thought?! You thought?!" The man got in Eliot's face. "You are a soldier Spencer! A poor excuse of a soldier, but still a soldier! The Army owns you and they pay you to be a soldier! They do not pay you to think! They pay you to do exactly as you are told!"_

 _"_ _Well, then that's the problem with the Army, Sir." Again with the sarcasm. "I'm not gonna let innocent people get caught in the crossfire. Especially the Army's crossfire!" Eliot came back at the man._

_Neither man noticed the Major that walked up to stand just behind the other troops as Eliot faced off against his CO. The man just stood back as he watched Eliot stand up to the other man._

_"_ _You're lucky this is a training exercise Spencer! If this had been a real mission, you would have failed your platoon and gotten them all killed just so you could save a few villagers. You do not work alone! You're platoon is your team and you have to think of them before anyone else!" The Sergeant turned to face the rest of the platoon and in doing so he noticed the Major standing just behind the men, but he gave no indication that he had noticed him. "Let this be a lesson to all of you! You are only as good as your weakest link and today that link was Spencer. Platoon dismissed!" He turned back to face Eliot. "Except you Spencer. You are on report and you will have KP for the remainder of the month. You like working alone so much then you get to run the kitchen by yourself. Dismissed."_

_Eliot turned and walked away from the man. Eliot really hated this guy, but truth be told, he didn't mind kitchen duty at all. He liked to cook and wouldn't mind taking over the kitchen. Hell, he may even learn a thing or too. He'd probably give anything to actually get some real instruction in the culinary arts, but he'd make do with being given free reign of an Army kitchen for now._

_The Major stepped over to the Sergeant. "So, what do you think?"_

_"_ _I think he's arrogant, pig-headed, impossible to train, he'd rather work alone and he's a real pain in my ass." The Sergeant turned to look at the Major. "And I think he's exactly what you're looking for." He added as he grinned slightly._

_The Major also smiled. "I think you're right, Whitmore. I think you're right."_

_"And I think we're gonna get some great meals over the next few months. I hear the kid's got a knack for cookin'." Whitmore added. "Mad skills with a knife."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 8:30 AM

Detective Bonanno looked at the Chief Medical Examiner as they both stood over the table where the remains found in Eliot Spencer's garage lay. "Can you repeat that last part, Les. I'm not quite sure I got that since you don't seem to be speaking English anymore."

Lester McEvoy couldn't help smiling at that. Patrick Bonanno wasn't an idiot. He understood most of what he was telling him; it just didn't seem to be making much sense to him. Which Lester could understand.

"I'm saying these remains are not those of Eliot Spencer, but they do have seven alleles or genetic markers in common with Spencer. I just got the report back from CSI and whoever this is laying here is somehow related to the man. Could be an uncle maybe. A father or brother is also possible. If Spencer was older I'd even go so far as to say it's possible this is his son."

Bonanno took that info in. "So somehow this person is related to Spencer and he was the one blown up in the bomb. Not Spencer himself." He mused out loud. "Okay. So if this is not Eliot, then where the hell is he?"

"That, detective is the million dollar question now, isn't it?" The medical examiner answered.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_I Have Hours, Only Lonely_

_My Love Is Vengeance_

_That's Never Free_

_"_ _That, detective is the million dollar question now, isn't it?" The medical examiner answered._

 

Detective Bonanno looked up from the remains on the table to focus on the medical examiner. "And an even more expensive question is who is this laying here and how exactly is he related to Eliot Spencer?"

"Right. Well Pat, I just cut 'em open and such…" he said pointing to the remains on the table. "It's your job to find out who they were, but I have no doubts that you will find the answers." The man reached for the sheet to cover the remains. "Until I get the word from you, I'm placing these remains in limbo. CSI has recovered more remains found mixed with pieces of the truck and I'm expecting those anytime. I'll put those ahead of anything else today and I'll let you know what I find out from them."

"I know this may be the impossible question here, but do you think you can tell me what exactly the cause of death was or at least give me an idea of the cause."

The man looked at him and laughed. "You mean besides the obvious of being blown to bits?" When he saw the serious look the detective gave him he asked, "You're kidding right?"

Bonanno chuckled lightly then as he answered. "If only I were."

The medical examiner slowly shook his head. "There just isn't enough remains here to give me a difinitive cause of death. The most I can get from these is if I have some samples to run a test for drugs in the tissue. Or I might be able to have some samples tested for the decomp ratio. I might, and I mean I _might_ be able to tell you if he was dead before he was blown to bits, but other than that it's doubltful I can get anything else. Now if your CSI guys could find me a piece larger than a bread box or maybe some sections of the internal organs, I just might be able to tell you more than that, but as it is, this is it."

"Whatever you can get me, Les, that'd be great. Run the decomp tests first. That's a good start. If this man was dead before the bomb, then that would mean this whole thing was planned to kidnap Eliot and that could drum up some different leads to follow. Meanwhile I'm heading out to talk to his team. Call me with the results as soon as you get them. And thanks, Les. I owe you one."

Lester McEvoy looked up at the detective. "You don't owe me anything, Pat. I owe you more than you'll ever know. You helped me out in the past and I'm here anytime. I'll get the lab started on those tests. Don't worry, I'll be in touch." He reached out and shook the detective's hand. "You'll find the truth."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Somewhere in Eliot Spencer's Past_

_"_ _Eliot!" Came the sweet sounding voice of the young girl with her pigtails flying behind her as she ran up to the young boy who sat cross-legged on their front porch._

 _"_ _Hey Emma." Eliot greeted his sister. " 'Bout time you got home. Mamma's looking for you." He continued to sit on the porch petting their lazy coonhound Jake._

 _"_ _What for? I done all my chores before I went ridin'. Mamma said I could." Emma Spencer flopped down to sit on the other side of Jake as she took hold of one of his long floppy ears and played with it. The dog was totally worthless as an actual coonhound, but he was the most loving animal they'd ever owned and she loved him._

 _"_ _Not sure exactly, but I think it has to do with Aunt Marie and Uncle Marty. They called and said they were comin' out this weekend to visit and with Mamma being really pregnant right now, she probably wants you to help clean up the house and get the spare room ready. And since it's women's work, she needs you." Eliot teased his sister._

_At thirteen, his sister was a big supporter of the women's lib thing going on. Eliot loved to tease her whenever he could, but in all honesty he really admired his sister's opinions and how strong she actually was. He was a firm believer that women were actually the stronger of the human species. Aside from physical strength men couldn't hold a candle to the things women had been enduring for centuries. Childbirth alone was all it took to understand just how strong his mother was, and then to see how she dealt with other things just made him believe his sister had a good teacher. The two women were exactly alike and they were like rocks as far as he was concerned._

_"_ _Ha ha. Very funny Ellie." Emma teased back. She knew how much her brother hated the girlie nickname in public, but she also knew he actually like it when it was between the two of them. "Okay, so Aunt Marie and Uncle Marty are coming out from Nevada to visit. We haven't seem them in a while. Did mamma say why they suddenly decided to make the trip?"_

 _"_ _Nope, but she's excited. She went to move dad's truck so they could park their motor home close to the house and she accidentally scratched the side on the fence post over there." He said pointing to their dad's truck parked next to said post. "Dad wanted to be mad, but mamma was so upset she'd done that, he couldn't help but laugh. You should have seen mamma's face when she realized what she'd done." Eliot said as he remembered the incident, laughing at the look on his dad's face._

_Emma laughed too. "Well, Uncle Marty is her favorite brother and he hasn't been home in a while, so I can see why she'd get so excited." She brushed the loose hair from her face as she took in the sight of their dad's truck sitting there with the scrap that she could see from where she sat. "I bet dad's more worried about mamma havin' that baby than his truck, although it's probably a sure thing that the truck is in the back of his mind. He loves that old truck."_

_"_ _Yep, almost as much as mamma, but like you said, he's more worried about her right now. So he's gone to the store to stock up on food since they plan on staying for a week or so. Mamma said it took Aunt Marie a lot of beggin' but she got Uncle Marty to agree to a week so they could catch up with all the family."_

 _"_ _Cool. Okay, I'll go find mamma, but if I have to clean the house, then you get to start dinner!" Emma said as she jumped up and ran in the house before Eliot could object._

_Eliot only laughed as he watched his sister run inside the house. He reached out and scratched Jake behind his ears and reveled in the sound of bliss that came from the dog's deep rumble. "Just between you and me Jake, I got the better end of the deal. And so did everyone else cause we both know my sister can't cook to save her life!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly 11:00 AM

"Not Eliot? Your positive detective?" Nate Ford said to the detective that sat across from him at the table in McRory's bar. The fact that the remains that had been found at the crime scene were not those of Eliot was all he'd really heard when the man had begun explaining what he had so far.

"Yes. The medical examiner is positive about that, but there's something we can't explain though."

Nate looked at the man. What else could there be to explain, he thought. Eliot was alive and now he and his remaining team mates had to find him. "What? What's to explain?"

"Les, the M.E. is positive that the remains are those of a male relative of Eliot's. They have the same genetic markers and the body has to be a close relative. Do you know anything of Eliot's family, Nate?"

Nate looked across the bar to the table where Hardison, Parker and Sophie were sitting waiting to hear what the two men were discussing about Eliot. He'd convinced them to let him talk to the detective alone in case…well in case the news wasn't good. But now, he was thinking it was because he didn't want to have them see him lose it in case the news wasn't good. They were facing away from him, but Nate knew they were very in tune with the two men and they'd know the instant the detective got up to leave. It didn't hurt that they were all listening via their earbuds either, he thought with a small smile.

Eliot was alive though and that was what he needed to focus on right now. He didn't know a lot about Eliot but he did know some things that the others didn't. Eliot had told him some things since the events with Damien Moreau; to more or less prove to Nate that he could trust him to be there for the team.

"I don't know much about Eliot's family, he's a very private man and he prefers it that way, but I know his father is alive and lives in Oklahoma. He's retired now, but he used to run a hardware store. I know Eliot had a younger brother, a younger sister and an older one, but the younger sister and brother were killed in a car accident with their mother when Eliot was younger. I don't know the details and I never asked. To get Eliot to give me that much was basically a gift of how much the man had come to trust me. And to ignore that gift by asking him questions was something I would not do. I don't know if his mother or father had any brothers and his one remaining sibling is a sister. He never said if he even kept in touch with any of them." Nate sighed as he remembered when Eliot had chosen to tell him about this much of his family. "I know he has a lot of skeletons in his past that he prefers to keep to himself and I've respected him for that."

The detective nodded slowly. "Do you know if his sister has any children, a son maybe?"

Nate thought about that. "I remember once he said something about his nephew, but he spoke of him like he was a small child. I don't think he has any other nephews since he only mentioned the one that one time. I have a number for his sister, but when Eliot gave it to me it was only to be used if we needed to give her…give her bad news. _Accurate_ bad news, if you know what I mean, detective."

"Yeah, unfortunately, I'm gonna need that number, Nate. And before you say anything, I know what to say and how to say it. I'll keep everything quiet until I actually have something to tell her, but I need to know who this guy was and how he was related to Eliot. It could help us find Eliot. That's the next thing here Nate. We need to find out where Eliot is."

Nate looked at the man and nodded. He was right about one thing. They needed to find out what happed to Eliot and where he was. But Nate knew the police investigation was now on the back burner for him and the others. They would conduct their own investigation from here on out. If the detective could identify who the remains were, well that would be the best they could hope for, because whoever had Eliot had to know about him and his family. Whoever had Eliot could very possibly even be family.

Whoever had Eliot was not on the police's radar, but they could very well be on the government's radar and that meant it had to do with something from Eliot's past. Eliot had given Nate his sister's contact info, but that wasn't the only contact info Eliot had given him. Nate held the contact info for someone else; someone who could help him find Eliot and he was keeping that to himself.

Nate reached out for a napkin and pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and he wrote down the contact information for Emma Spencer-Whitmore from memory. That was the only place he kept his team's pertinent info. "I don't know how much help she'll be, but promise me you won't say anything about Eliot missing until you have something concrete on his whereabouts. She'll panic and with what she's had to live with in the past about Eliot, she'll already be suspicious just from getting your call."

"All right. But that's a two way promise." The man said taking the napkin and folding it then putting it in his inside jacket pocket. "You come up with anything on your end, you let me know. But only let me know when you have something concrete. The less I know right now about Eliot's past means the more I can apply _plausible deniability._ " He smiled as he reached out and shook hands with Nate over the table.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly sometime around noon

Eliot Spencer knew for a fact he was not lying on his kitchen floor anymore. He had slowly been coming more alert as he continued to fake unconsciousness. He could hear the steady beep beep of the monitors that were recording his heartbeat and his breathing, while he could feel the pain in his chest and his left side. His first thought was he was in a hospital, but that thought quickly vanished when he couldn't smell any of the smells he would have associated with a hospital.

Hospitals, no matter where they were, all had the same distinctive antiseptic smells, and this one had none of those smells. He knew he was in a bed, but it was not a traditional hospital bed. While he knew it was raised slightly, it didn't feel like a normal hospital bed and he knew that he was restrained at both wrists by leather cuffs that were not attached to bed rails, but rather where attached somewhere under the bed itself. Probably to the framework. He also knew his ankles were restrained as well.

He'd slowly been assessing everything he could while he still gave whoever held him captive the impression that he was still out. He needed to have all of his faculties about him if he intended to get out of this mess and right now he knew he wasn't moving very soon. He knew he'd been shot at least twice in his house. One bullet had entered his left side and the other hit him in the chest just as he was going down. And neither injury would have been a simple wound. He knew he should have died from those injuries, but someone had saved him and he could only speculate that the reasons for him being alive meant they needed something from him.

He had a long list of enemies and any number of them could be behind this, but for some reason he couldn't come up with a name at the moment. He could only think it had to be someone who hated him and it had to be from his past. It wouldn't involve his team or he'd have just been dead. If he and the team had been targets then any of those enemies they'd made on their jobs would have just killed him. No, whoever was behind this wanted him to live just so he could suffer later.

"I know you're faking it Eliot." The voice was male and was familiar. Eliot thought it was the same voice from his kitchen, but he wasn't sure. Something was nagging at the back of his mind about that voice.

 _"_ _Hello Mr. White Hat…"_

Eliot slowly opened his eyes to find his vision slightly fuzzy as he tried to focus in on the man standing over him. As his vision slowly cleared and the man came into focus, Eliot was sure he was hallucinating. This man was…dead. As in, Eliot knew he was dead because he'd been the one to take his knife and slit his throat. He had killed this man over five years ago. Five years ago when he'd worked for Damien Moreau.

The killing of this man had been the only thing Eliot had ever regretted doing. The one truly worst thing he'd ever done. The one worst thing he'd done for Damien Moreau. He remembered telling his team. He remembered…

_Nate slowly stood up and walked over to Eliot. "We've been chasing Moreau for six months, and you didn't tell us?"_

_"_ _Because I was trying…" Eliot began. He didn't know how to tell them. He'd been trying to protect them and he'd been hoping he'd never have to tell them. But he knew Moreau and he knew what he was capable of._

_But Nate interrupted him. "Because what?"_

_"…_ _to figure out a way around this, all right; maybe take my shot before-"_

 _"_ _Because you're protecting him?" Nate interrupted again. "Is that what you're-"_

_This time Eliot snapped back at him. "I'm protecting you! All right…last time I checked, that's my job."_

_"_ _Look we can handle Moreau."_

_Eliot sighed as he looked up at Nate. He didn't understand. None of them understood. They couldn't even begin to understand. "We're out of our league, Nate. Every one of Moreau's men has innocent blood on their hands, every one of 'em. Every one of 'em…are worse than me. You think you know what I've done? The worst thing I ever did in my entire life, I did for Damien Moreau. And I – I'll never be clean of that." Never he thought to himself._

_"_ _What did you do?" Came Parker's soft voice from behind Nate and that voice just about killed Eliot. Her voice just about made him lose any control he had left._

_Eliot slowly turned his gaze from Nate to Parker. "Don't ask me that, Parker." He knew she could see the unshed tears in his eyes as he spoke to her. They could all see. "Because if you ask me, I'm gonna tell you. So please don't ask me."_

"So you remember me, don't you Eliot?" The man stood over Eliot looking down at him. He bent down until his face was mere inches from Eliot's. "Ghosts have a way of making themselves known, don't they? Ghosts always have a way of making themselves known." He chuckled softly at the look in Eliot's eyes. "But then again, you have a lot of ghosts making themselves known to you. You've killed more men than you can count and I'm sure that most of them even deservied it. But I didn't. Did I? Brother?"

Eliot closed his eyes slowly and when he opened them the man was gone and there was no one near him. He was still in the bed and he could still hear the monitor beeping, but the man he'd killed for Damien Moreau was gone. The man that he should never have killed he thought. The man who was family…the man who was his brother.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

_No One Knows What It's Like_

_To Feel These Feelings_

_Like I Do_

_And I Blame You_

Roughly about Noon

"So Hardison, you got all that right?" Nate asked the hacker as he moved to sit down with the team after having spoken with the detective.

Nate had asked the team members to allow him to talk to Detective Bonanno alone, but he'd allowed Hardison to record the conversation while they all listened in via their earbuds. He knew they'd heard everything he'd said to the man, but he knew they wouldn't bring up everything he'd said; not right now.

"Yep. I got every word. What do we do now, Nate?" Hardison asked as he fumbled with his laptop. "I've already hacked into the detective's case notes in the police database as well as flagged all of Eliot's known aliases and his credit cards, but I don't have much of anything. Everything the detective told you is pretty much all he has in his notes and I doubt that I'm gonna get any hits on El's credit cards. I've tried to track his earbud, but it's offline so he probably wasn't even wearing it." Hardison paused as he ran his fingers deftly across his keyboard. "Eliot didn't leave man, he was taken and we don't even know if he had his wallet on him when he was. There's nothing in Bonanno's notes about anything missing from El's house. Besides if he was hurt when he was taken, he could already be-"

"Don't you say it Hardison!" Parker spoke quickly interrupting the hacker. "Do not say that Eliot's dead, 'cause he's NOT dead! Everything that I'm hearing is telling me he isn't. He wouldn't do that to me; to us. Eliot would never leave us!"

All eyes turned to look at the young woman as she sat between Hardison and Sophie. Nate knew that out of all the team members, Parker would take losing Eliot the hardest. Eliot was her idol; her big brother of sorts. He could do no wrong in her eyes, no matter what he said to the contrary.

Parker hadn't had much stability in her young life, and being a part of this team was all she really had. And to take away her brother, well Nate knew it would hurt the girl just as much as losing her first brother had.

Sophie reached out and pulled the thief closer to her in a motherly hug. "He wasn't going to say that. He just meant that since Eliot was hurt, he would be unable to use his credit cards." Sophie soothed the woman as she gently held her close. "That's what you meant, isn't it Hardison?" Sophie turned pleading eyes to the hacker.

"Yeah, Parker. That's what I meant." The young man stated softly reaching out and taking one of Parker's hands in his own.

He was worried about how Parker was dealing with this. He knew she'd have the hardest time losing anyone on the team, but Eliot was the one person she depended on the most. Eliot's absence here was a constant reminder of the unknown and Parker did not like 'the unknown'.

When Hardison had first realized just how much Parker idolized Eliot, he had to admit he had been jealous. Eliot always got the girl, why did he have to take the one Hardison was interested in? But he quickly realized that it had nothing to do with romance and had everything to do with trust. Something that Parker very rarely gave anyone. The girl just needed someone in her life that she could totally trust in; someone who didn't want to take advantage of her.

She needed someone who was willing to protect her, care for her without wanting anything in return. She'd been hurt by so many people in her past, but not by Eliot. He brought balance back to her life and she'd blossomed since joing their team. She was still a bit socially awkward, but Hardison could see subtle changes in her everyday and in part that was due to how Eliot had accepted all of them and how well he protected them; protected her. He would go to the ends of the earth for any one of them, and Hardison knew he'd walk through the worst things imaginable if it meant Eliot would be protecting Parker. He'd learned that the man was just doing his job; not because he had to, but because he wanted to. And he knew Eliot placed Parker in the _special_ category because, hell who wouldn't? The girl worked her way under you skin and before you knew it, she had a firm grip on your heart.

Hardison wanted to protect her too, but he knew that Eliot could do that better than any of them and he knew now that he was okay with that. Eliot was not only important to Parker. He was important to Hardison too. Hardison hadn't had a real big brother and he felt like Eliot was his brother. His real brother; and Eliot was the best there was. While Eliot teased him unmercilessly, he knew Eliot would throw himself in front of the bus for him just as easily as he would for Parker.

"Hardison's right though Parker." Nate said as he watched the young thief. "If Eliot is hurt, he isn't going to be able to just get up and walk away. Whoever has him may be giving him medical treatment and they may not, but the one thing we can be sure of if Eliot is being held by someone from his past. And that's that there is no way he will expose himself even to us. That would be his way of protecting us." He finished, reaching for his glass he'd brought to the table with him.

"Yes. Eliot wouldn't want anyone coming after us, so he'll stay put or he'll disappear entirely. He will not lead anyone to us. So we need to find him and we need to find him soon." Sophie added, allowing Hardison to pull Parker into a hug.

"Yeah, but that's the problem. If we don't know where he is then we can't get hurt by the people that have him. But if we don't know where he is then we don't know how to help him either. And we need to help him, Nate." Hardison added, holding Parker close as he looked at the man across from him.

"Yeah, we need to find him. And then we need to protect him for a change." Nate sighed deeply as he realized his glass was empty. He raised it for the waitress to come get him a refill. "And I think I can find us some outside help in finding Eliot. Someone that might just know who has Eliot and why. Someone who can help us bring him home."

Sophie turned troubled eyes to Nate. "What do you mean?"

Nate smiled softly as he stated, "Eliot's sister isn't the only contact informaton he trusted me with." He watched them awkwardly. "I have another one that Eliot told me to only use if something… something bad ever happened to him."

"Well, Geez Nate, I think this qualifies." Hardison said looking at the mastermind. "Call them already for crying out loud!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Somewhere in Eliot Spencer's past_

_Eliot Spencer sat, watching; just watching. His ass hurt from all this sitting, but he wasn't moving until he'd learned everything there was to learn during this re-con mission. He needed as much intelligence as he could get if he and his team were to succeed in rescuing the American soldiers and some locals being held in secret below him in the supposedly abandoned building here in Croatia._

_Eliot remembered when he'd first enlisted in the US Army and he'd spent his basic training fighting everything the Army threw at him to try and make him a better soldier. He'd thought when he'd first enlisted that he was going to have an adventure, especially after leaving behind the life he'd once had in Oklahoma. He'd thought the Army would let him shed that closed up feeling he'd gotten living in a small town._

_But in reality he'd found that he'd just traded one claustrophobic life for another. Only this life allowed him to move from country to country while he was held in owndership by Uncle Sam. That was until he'd been approached about a year into his service. That was when his old CO had brought him to a meeting with then Field Officer Major Vance who was now Lt. Colonel Vance, his commanding officer._

_They'd been looking for 'a few good men' he thought with a chuckle as the Marine Corp slogan came foremost to his mind. They had been recruiting men to serve in the Special Operations Command. Black Ops. Delta. Whatever name they gave it for the benefit of explanation to the civilians of the world, but the meaning was still clear. They needed soldiers to do what the government couldn't publicly sanction. They needed soldiers to do the dirty stuff._

_Whatever you called it, Eliot was now a secret soldier in a secret group doing secret things to save secret people from secret threats; and if that all boiled down to doing the 'dirty' stuff then he was okay with that. He was good at what he did, damn good; and he was not being conceited in any way. He was good because the government had trained him well and because all of this came kind of naturally for him. He'd spent most of his life trying to hide from the life he'd had growing up. It wasn't a bad life, it just felt like he was destined for something else and then when his mom had died, he'd really had a lot thrown at him and he'd just needed to survive. And he had survived even if it had cost him most of his family. Besides if he didn't do this job, someone else would have been sitting here letting their ass get numb in his place._

_Yeah he thought, he was good at this. He was barely 19 years old and here he was second in command of this mission and on his way to leading his own unit soon. He would be commanding his own team on his next mission and as soon as he helped liberate these hostages and get Croatia on it's way to independence, he could start that next assignment._

_When they'd recruited him, Eliot had just turned 18, having lied about his age when he'd enlisted just so he could get out of that town he was suffocating in. He'd been 17 and just graduating from high school so he'd lied to the recruiter and now here he was. Not old enough to legally drink in most states, but able to lead a covort op to save at least 30 people, maybe more._

_Eliot had went through hell just to survive the selection process, which to him only meant they needed to recruit the men that were too strong or too stupid to die during the process. He'd endured enless sit-ups, push-ups, too long mile runs with no rest and no water and the worst shit he'd been faced with had been the mental screenings. Eliot had his secrets and he didn't need the Army working it's way inside his head over his private thoughts. He'd learned then just how to compartmentalize everything and stow it down deep inside himself. He'd learned a lot about how to push everything and everyone aside to protect himself. And he'd succeeded._

_But Eliot couldn't help thinking of his sister Emma from time to time and of Aimee. He'd left both women without any news on where he was when he'd gone home to visit before he'd been successfully recruited. He'd left Aimee the night before he had to report for basic with a promise ring and well, just a promise. A promise to come back to her as soon as he could, but he'd failed to keep that promise and when he had gone back to visit, he'd found out from Emma that Aimee hadn't waited for him. She'd moved with her family to Kentucky and was getting married soon._

_He'd been hurt at first, but he soon realized it was his own fault and he couldn't blame her if she found someone else. He knew in his heart he didn't belong in this small town anymore and he couldn 't be the husband she deserved. He couldn't give anything to her when he had nothing to give. So he'd left home telling Emma he'd keep in touch, but she knew too that she wouldn't be seeing him anytime soon. He hadn't even seen his father, who had actually refused to see him anyway. Everyone but Emma had turned their backs on him and he probably deserved it. The last thing he saw from his truck's rearview mirror as he drove away was his sister standing alone in the street just watching him drive away._

_Eliot shook off the memories as he came back to his mission now. He was needed right now and he couldn't let anything stop him from what he had to do. He brought the night vision binoculars back up to his eyes and took note of the SUV that was driving up. Eliot could feel the dynamics of this mission changing as he watched. The big shot, the head honcho was on the scene and that didn't mean anything good for the hostages below. That meant the team had to act now, not later._

_As Eliot reached for his ear com to relate the necessary information to his superiors, he took note of the fact that the rest of his men were already noting the new events taking place below too and they were moving themselves into position to react before they were given their next orders. That's what Eliot liked, a fine-tuned team that read each other without needing to ask questions. He liked being a part of a team; his team._

_Then the sound of gunshots from below threw all thoughts to the wind as the team reacted…_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

_No One Bites Back As Hard_

_On Their Anger_

_None Of My Pain And Woe_

_Can Show Through_

_Somewhere in Eliot Spencer's past_

_"_ _Eliot Sweetie, would you help Emma clear the table? She can do the dishes since you fixed this great dinner. Right Emma?" Mary Spencer spoke to her two oldest children. She smiled at each as she asked them for their help._

 _"_ _Sure mamma." Emma replied picking up her plate and some of the other dishes on the table. "Come on Ellie, I'll let you dry!" She teased as she headed past him into the kitchen._

 _"_ _Very funny. I do not have to dry. That's your job too!" Eliot said as he grabbed up a handful of dishes and followed her. "Besides," he added coming into the kitchen on her heels. "Mamma said you had to do them. Were you not just listening?" He deposited his handful of dishes on the counter next to Emma's as he turned to head back for more. "And I still have some things to go over for my history test tomorrow." He added before disappearing through the doorway._

_Emma smiled at her brother's retreating back as she began to fill the sink with water and soap. As he came back in with another load of dishes, she said to him, "you didn't have to use every dish in the house for this dinner, you know. And you especially didn't have to use the good china. If you'd used the everyday dishes, I could have just loaded up the dishwasher and been done already."_

_"_ _No, I probably didn't, but since it was a special night for mamma, I thought it would be nice." Eliot said matter-of-factly._

 _"_ _Yeah you're right. Mamma misses Aunt Marie and Uncle Marty a lot, and now that their son Evan has gone off to join the Air Force, they don't have as much keeping them tied down at home so it was nice of them to visit. And it was nice of you to make dinner special for all of them, I guess." She grudgingly admited, loading dishes into the hot water and setting to work on them._

_Eliot smiled slyly as he added, "And it was fun giving you more work to do!"_

_"_ _Oh, you!" Emma said laughing as she threw the wet washcloth at him. Eliot ran through the doorway to avoid the wet rag and came back with another load of dishes. "So not funny 'little' brother!" That would get him. Eliot hated being called on his height as well as his age in regards to her._

_Emma was always rubbing it in that she was a whole two inches taller and a whole two minutes older. Eliot ignored her as he deposited the last of the dirty dishes on the counter next to her and snuck out the back door to go check on the horses before heading up to his room to study._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 1:30 PM

Eliot Spencer was no stranger to pain. He'd been injured more times than he cared to ever admit, but when he opened his eyes some time later he was minutely aware of every single ache and pain he'd probably ever experienced. Being tied down to a hospital bed was not only causing his current wounds to throb to attention, his old wounds were making themselves known in the restraint of his muscles. He wanted to stretch his arms to work out the kinks, but his movement was limited. He needed to move, he needed to know he was not at the mercy of some enemy of his past.

When the hazy image of a woman in a blue nurse's uniform bending over him came into his vision, he thought maybe he was still asleep and dreaming. That was until his vision cleared up a bit and he could focus more clearly on her. There _was_ a woman bending over him and he could see she was taking his pulse. He could feel her fingers on his right wrist just below the leather cuff that held him captive.

He thought again about struggling against the restraints, but his body was so tired right now and he was still groggy from slipping in and out of consciousness. He couldn't even muster up enough energy to try and move his hand, but the woman must have sensed he was awake as she spoke to him.

"Oh, good you're awake. How are you feeling Mr. Chapman?" The woman looked directly at Eliot and he couldn't believe how green her eyes were. They were the same deep mossy green color of the grass back home. Back home he thought. When had he been thinking of home?

Eliot couldn't help but just stare into their deep green depths and he didn't realized she'd actually asked him another question until she reached out and snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. He jolted a bit at that and managed to ask in a gruff voice, "What the hell?" His voice was raspy and rough even for him, but the response was instinctive.

The woman smiled at him despite his rough response and repeated her question. "I asked how you were feeling?" She seemed to be genuinely concerned for his health, Eliot thought. But that wasn't possible. She was a part of…of whatever the hell was going on here.

Her concern surprised Eliot though, as he tried to maintain his stoic but gruff front when he answered her. "I've been shot and probably died somewhere between getting shot and now. And I hurt like hell. That's how I feel." He managed to get out past the dryness in his mouth and throat. He sounded a lot grumpier than normal, but he was being held against his will here. He was again surprised by the woman's soft laughter at his reply.

"I bet you do hurt. Maybe this'll help some." She reached out and picked up a cup with a spoon in it that must have been sitting on a table near the head of his bed.

She scooped up whatever was in the cup and held the spoon out for him to take. He just looked suspiciously at the spoon and then at her. When he realized that she was holding a spoonful of ice cips his first instinct was to greedily latch onto the spoon, however considering he was here as a prisoner, he didn't know what might also be included with the ice.

"There's nothing here but frozen water." She said to him noticing his hesitation. "I promise." She added in a whisper bending closer to him.

Eliot wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not, but his instincts were telling him for some unknown reason that he could trust her. Yet he continued to hesitate.

"Come on, Mr. Chapman. I'm not here to hurt you, I promise. Besides the sooner you get better, the sooner you can get out of here and back to your life, hon." The woman softly said as she continued to hold the spoon to his lips.

 _Get out of here and back to my life?_ Was she serious? Eliot looked at the woman; really looked. Yes, she was serious. She had no idea why he was being held prisoner here. She was just the hired help. Someone hired to keep him alive so that the man who wanted him here could deliver the killing blow himself. She had no idea what she was into here.

Eliot looked the woman over. She was probably in her early forties, but he was basing that on how she spoke to him. Like a mother hen. She didn't look much older than early thirties, so he knew she took care of herself. Eliot knew how to read people and if she wasn't in her forties, then she had what he liked to call 'an old soul'. She knew of a harsher life at one point. That was evident in her caring nature. Her choice to be a nurse perhaps stemmed from that caring nature. She'd see a lot of loss in her life.

She was also very attractive now that he concentrated on her face. She not only had those deep soul baring green eyes that seemed to be able to search out his soul as well, but she had soft plump lips that just hovered there waiting for him to… He mentally shook himself as he realized where his thoughts had been heading. He also realized that she had guessed his concerns over the ice right away. She'd read him too.

But it was her dark blonde hair that was her best feature. She currently had it pulled back and secured at the nape of her neck. He could feel his fingers just itching to run through the length of it. To release it from it's bond and see it frame her soft face. He was willing to bet if she let her hair go loose, she would melt a man's socks right off his feet.

She smiled softly at him. "Have I passed your inspection, Mr. Chapman?"

Eliot should have been surprised, but he wasn't. She read him just as quickly as he'd read her. He fought at the smile tugging at his lips. To hide it, he slowly opened his mouth and allowed her to feed him the ice chips and as he chewed on the mouthful, he watched as she slowly settled herself next to him on the bed. With his arms restrained at his sides, he was just barely able to brush her upper thigh with the fingertips of his right hand.

She continued to smile at him as she gave him another spoonful of ice. "That's good, but we might want to slow down. We don't want to upset our system with too much right now." She said as she scooped out one more bite before setting the cup back down on the table.

Eliot had instantly felt the relief the ice gave him going down his parched throat and hated the thought of not getting anymore, but he understood the need to go slow. He'd cared for his own wounds enough in the past, to know what his limits were. Besides he didn't handle anesthetic well, and he needed to be careful not to overload his system.

"We? Our system?" He questioned her as he swallowed the last mouthful of the nectar. "When did _we_ get shot? I thought it was just me here in this bed."

She laughed at him. "You're right, I didn't. But that's what comes out when…" She stopped abruptly. She moved her eyes from him and seemed to be looking off to his left.

"That's what comes out when you're a mother?" He quietly finished for her. When she brought her eyes back to him, he could see the pain in those beautiful eyes.

She swallowed convulsively as she looked down at the man lying in the bed. Why in the world did she feel the urge to tell him the truth about herself? She didn't know this man from Adam, and yet she felt this strong urge to trust him.

"Was." She replied simply.

"Was?"

She sighed deeply. "I was a mother."

Eliot got it then. "As in not anymore." He realized she _had_ seen a lot of loss in her life. "What happened?" He asked quietly.

She hesitated and for a moment, Eliot thought she was going to tell him about it, but then he saw something come over her face that seemed to shut out what she had been feeling. She was closing herself off. He recognized it instantly, hell he was a master of shutting people out and closing things off from others poking around in his life. He understood and backed off.

"So, what exactly happened to put me here?" He asked instead.

The woman returned her gaze back to him and smiled in thank you to him. "You were shot Mr. Chapman. You came here with two wounds and you were barely alive. But Dr. Richards was able to remove the bullets and stop the bleeding. You did lose a lot of blood, though and that's why you're so tired. But lucky for you we were able to give you direct blood transufsions from your brother." She reached down to check the IV that ran into his left arm by stretching across his body.

That's when Eliot looked up and realized the bag on the IV pole was red. It was blood being pumped into his system right now. His brother? Eliot had some memory of seeing the man when he'd first woken up, but he'd thought it was just a dream. There was no way it had been his brother. He only had one brother and he died when he was seven in a car crash with his mother. Unless… no, it wasn't possible. Evan was dead. He'd been dead over five years now.

"My…my brother?" He asked his voice a little shaky. "I don't have a brother."

The woman looked at him confused. "He said he was your brother."

"What…what name did he give?" Eliot now remembered the woman kept calling him Mr. Chapman. He hadn't really placed that until now.

"Evan Chapman." When she saw the look of sheer disbelief pass over the Eliot's features she was confused even more. "What's wrong?"

"My brother Evan died five years ago in…just he died five years ago. It's not possible the man who brought me here is my brother." Eliot looked around him suddenly trying to see what was going on around him.

When he saw only himself and the nurse, his breathing eased a bit, but he knew he was in danger. Real danger. This wasn't just an enemy from his past, this _was_ his past. His past was coming back to haunt him. Eliot Spencer had faced a lot of different enemies in his lifetime and had fought many a foe to come out on top almost everytime, but he'd never faced the other side of this world. He'd never faced a ghost before.

"Mr. Chapman, are you sure? This man looks just like you. I've met the man, and he seems genuinely concerned for your well-being. He's not far, I can go get him for you."

Eliot quickly jerked to look back at the woman. Katharine he saw on her name tag. "No!" He tried to pull at his hands where they were still bound in the cuffs, but he was still so weak. "If this man were really my brother, then ask yourself why in the hell does he have me tied to a bed in a private residence instead of in a hospital where I should be? Ask yourself that, Katharine and then tell me this man is really my family. Ask yourself that and then tell me how the hell I can get out of here."

Katharine Malone Whitfield looked down at the man and realized there was something wrong here. She'd been feeling it ever since she'd taken this assignment. She'd known from the minute she laid eyes on Eliot Chapman that even if he did look exactly like the man Evan Chapman, there was something wrong with this whole setup. She couldn't understand the use of the restraints, but she'd trusted Dr. Richards. She'd worked with him at the hospital for the last 8 years. Quickly scanning the room she turned back to Eliot. "What do you want me to do?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

_But My Dreams_

_They Aren't As Empty_

_As My Conscience Seems To Be_

_Katherine Malone looked down at the man and realized there was something wrong here. She'd been feeling it ever since she'd taken this assignment… Quickly scanning the room she turned back to Eliot. "What do you want me to do?"_

 

Eliot looked up at the woman still sitting next to him on the bed. How could he ask her to help him escape? He didn't want to drag her into this, but he could see no other way. At least not in his current condition and not knowing exactly where or even when he was. He hated relying on someone to help him, but he saw no other way at the moment. "Just help me to get out of here," he sighed as he quietly added, "Please?"

"I'm not sure how I can do that exactly." Katharine thought about it. How could she get him out of here? He was in a well guarded room in a well guarded home and while she was staying on the premises to monitor his care, she had no idea exactly how detailed the layout of this large home was. She'd only been in the front door and straight up the stairs to this west wing of the home to monitor this man's care and was told to only use the back stairs to go to the kitchen for her meals. The doctor wasn't even on the premises right now. He was due back soon though. "Look, tell me what's going on here first. I need to…I need to know that what I'm about to do is the right thing to do." Even if she felt this whole thing was off, she didn't want to be trading one bad decision for another. "I just need to know that I'm not making a mistake by helping you."

Eliot looked deep into her green eyes. He held contact as he reached out his right forefinger as far as he could to touch her on her thigh. "You know what's happening here isn't right, I can see it in your eyes. You know this is all wrong." He watched her as he spoke. "Just…just look at me and I mean really look at me and then tell me if I'm the ba…the problem or the victim." He didn't want to say 'bad guy', cause Eliot knew that for most of his life he'd always been the bad guy. And he knew in his heart he would always be the bad guy. "Just tell me that seeing me lying here shot, restrained for whatever reason they gave you, and being pretty close to being dependent on another human being is what I deserve. Just…just look at me and tell me if I deserve to be treated like this." He finished softly never breaking his eye contact with her as he gently moved his hands as far as he could in the restraints to make his point. He hated feeling this vulnerable, but he could see no way around it...for now.

Eliot knew he was putting all of his trust on the line with this woman, but he didn't have anyone else he could depend on right now. And if she could help him out, he'd make sure she was safe. He'd do his damnedest to make sure she didn't get hurt from any of this. He just needed her to help him get free and then he could get in contact with his team and Nate would make sure she was set up under a false identity and moved somewhere safe. He just needed to get out of here as soon as possible. He knew he'd already been here too long. His team had no idea where he was or how to find him, because they had no idea who was behind this; but Eliot knew. He was piecing it together and didn't like the answer he was getting.

Katharine looked into his eyes. His incredibly blue eyes and she knew that whatever was going on here, it was wrong. He was right, he didn't deserve to be shackled to a bed especially after having major surgery for two bullet wounds. He'd been shot, and just that alone was suspicious. He should be in a hospital, not in Evan Chapman's home. Whoever Evan Chapman was, she knew he wasn't being honest with his explanations of why this man was being restrained.

"What's your name. I mean the chart says it's Eliot Chapman, but I just want to be sure…" She didn't want to sound like she was invading his privacy, but she needed to know what to call him. And she really wanted to know if he would be honest with her. She knew if he'd lie just by watching those deep eyes of his.

"Spencer. My name is Eliot Spencer." He answered her.

Okay she thought, she'd made her decision. She didn't have any real family, save an elderly aunt in Kansas, so she had nothing holding her to this job, even if she did like the hospital here. She knew somehow that if she helped this man, she'd be leaving this place. She'd left other places to come here, so leaving wasn't that big of a deal. She'd been doing it for a long time now and she knew she could start over somewhere else. She didn't mind leaving everything behind. She'd move on and start a new chapter. Besides she was pretty sure if her daughter were here, she'd agree. _Take a chance mom, it's the right thing to do here. I promise._ Katharine could actually feel her daughter's words as she heard them softly whispered in her ear. She smiled to herself.

"Okay Eliot Spencer," She agreed. "I'll help you, but you'd better not make me regret it." She shook her left finger at him like a mother to a naughty child and was actually pleased when he smiled at her.

"Wouldn't dream of it darlin'." He replied as he touched his right forefinger again to her thigh. Damn he thought, she was really beautiful. "I wouldn't dream of it." He gave her his most sincere smile and he actually allowed it to reach his eyes as he did.

And that did it for her. Those blue eyes and that smile. He had her from that moment on and she knew she was in trouble. And not from the consequences of helping him, but from him. The man. He'd reached out and grabbed her heart and now she knew that whatever happened here, she was not going to ever regret this decision. Come what may, she was going to save this man. She was going to save Eliot.

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Roughly about 2:00 PM

Nate sat at the desk in the office space of his loft. He'd just placed a call to Eliot's sister Emma to ask her how she was and to descreetly see if he could find out exactly what Detective Bonanno had asked her about Eliot. He knew that Emma knew exactly what Eliot did now in his work with Nate and the team, he'd told Nate as much when he'd given him her cell number just in case. But he also said that he didn't ever go into any details with her. She knew what his life was like, and she'd accepted that a long time ago.

Nate had never talked to the woman before, but considering he'd been the one to give her number to the detective, he wanted to at least make sure she was doing okay and not worrying about Eliot.

Emma had been kind and told him everything the detective had told her and everything he'd asked of her. Nate smiled as he realized just from their conversation , that the woman was exactly like Eliot Spencer. She was direct and to the point and didn't mince words where Eliot was concerned. She knew something was up, but she'd learned a long time ago not to ask questions, however Nate could sense she was dying to ask.

He assured her that Eliot was fine and that he'd just up and disappeared on the team and since that was basically how Eliot had lived the last few years of his life, she seemed to understand. She assured Nate he'd be back, maybe a bruise or two, one stitch or twenty, and he'd be ready to get back to work. He always was. She'd learned to never ask anything that demanded he lie to her and Eliot had learned to never tell her any lies if he could help it. No matter what he did, she said he always found his way back to a phone and called her sooner or later. So they both agreed if they heard from him they'd contact the other.

Now Nate sat there contemplating his next call as he reached for the glass he'd brought with him from the liquor cabinet. It was almost empty, but as he noted the time on the desk clock he knew he needed to make this call. It was a little after four and if he wanted to catch the man he needed to make the call. He needed to call Emma's husband and he was in DC while she was back home in Oklahoma visiting friends.

Nate picked up his cell and punched in the numbers he'd memorized over the last hour. The phone rang exactly one time before it was picked up.

"I don't recognize this number so this better be good or so help me I will hunt your ass down and you do not want that, believe me." Was the greeting Nate got.

Nate was momentarily taken aback by the greeting and he stumbled over the words in his mouth as they seemed frozen there. "Umm…"

"Spit it out man! I don't have all damn day." The voice was gavelly like he'd swallowed nothing but road gravel and a lot of it. He was hard and quick and on edge. He was all business.

Nate's brain froze and all he could come back with was, "My name is Nate Ford."

That got him a minute of silence from the other end as the man stopped breathing it seemed. Then there was a rustling sound as if the man was switching his phone from one ear to the other.

"Mr. Ford if you are calling me then that means only one thing. Eliot must be in trouble." The man seemed to have calmed down a little, but not much as he added, "what has that dumbass gotten himself into now?"

"Well…Major it seems he's gone and gotten himself shot up and kidnapped and I have no idea whether he's dead or alive or even where he is at the moment." Nate wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing here or not, but he knew he couldn't do this alone. He needed help. Hardison hadn't found anything yet and time was running out. "Eliot's been missing roughly over twelve hours now and I…we need your help to find him. I'm hoping you have some idea who might have him."

"Mr. Ford…if someone had Eliot he is most likely either already dead or he's being tortured and in that case he will soon be dead."

Nate winced at the words. The man was worse than his wife. He was blunt and it bothered Nate and he was beginning to wonder if he was doing the right thing by calling him. Nate heaved a deep sigh and the other man seemed to soften at the sound.

"Tell me what you know." He said in a more subdued tone of voice.

And so Nate told the man everything he knew about what happened to Eliot. He read him all of the detective's notes that Hardison had hacked from the police database and he didn't leave anything out. He told him about the remains not being Eliot's, but they were somehow related to him. He told him everything about anyone from any of their past cases that could possibly be behind this, but he knew that wasn't the case. He had a rock hard feeling that this was personal for Eliot, deeply and the remains being a relative only solidified that feeling.

"I think I can help you Mr. Ford. Give me your address and I'll be there in exactly 3 hours."

Nate gave him the information and thanked him for the help. "Thank you Major. I'm at a loss here on what to do."

The man softened a little more as the conversation continued. "Call me Matt. Tell me Mr. Ford, has the detective contacted my wife at all? I haven't talked to her yet today what with meetings and things and this number you called is… well let's just call it a back up phone that's not to be used unless…"

Nate smiled. Yeah, back up. More like Black ops, he thought. "I understand Major. Yes, I felt obligated to give the detective your wife's cell number and I just talked to her. But he didn't tell her anything about what I've told you, only that Eliot was missing and there was a crime scene at his house. She seemed to understand it was probably something with Eliot's lifestyle and not a normal crime. I figure she will be calling you soon enough."

"You're right. She will. The woman is not anything if not readable. She's the exact opposite of Eliot in that regard. You do know they are twins, don't you?"

Nate was surprised by that. He didn't know that and he'd just assumed Emma was older because…well because that's the way Eliot described her to him. He considered her his closest thing to a rock in his family. Eliot didn't say much about any of his family other than his sister, so Nate had no idea what other family he had. "No, I didn't know that. You know, Eliot barely told me much about Emma other than she's his sister and her contact number if anything happened to him. I know nothing about any of his other family."

The other man sighed at that. "It's probably best you don't know. His life wasn't easy. Neither was Emma's. I met her when Eliot joined the Army. Couldn't take my eyes off the woman…girl really, hell but what a girl. Eliot was only 17 when he joined the Army. Lied to get in. To get…" Matthew Whitmore let the sentence trail off. "Best not to go there Mr. Ford. Eliot would have my dumbass if I went telling things he doesn't want anyone to know. But suffice it to say that Emma is really all Eliot has. Maybe after we get his ass back you can get him to answer some questions. Sounds like he's got a family there…with you and your team." The man said gruffly.

Nate smiled again as he realized the man was giving him a backhanded compliment. "Thank you…again Major."

"Anyway those are Eliot's secrets and he plays everything close to the vest. Always has always will probably. I'll take care of Emma and don't do anything until I get there. And believe this Mr. Ford, I'll be there. Make no mistake, if the person who has Eliot is who I believe it might be, then it's not just about Eliot's past in the service. It stems from his time with Damien Moreau and from a long family history. I'll explain what I can when I get there."

"Again…thank you Major Whitmore. And call me Nate."

"Sure just as soon as you remember to call me Matt." The man chuckled. "I'll see you in exactly 3 hours. Oh, and I'll be bringing an old friend to help out. He'd kill me if I left him out of this."

Nate hung up the phone and sat back to think about what had just happened. Eliot would probably be pissed at him for calling his brother-in-law into this, but the man was not here and Nate would gladly let him be pissed if Major Matthew Whitmore could bring Eliot home. Yes, he thought. He'd gladly take Eliot's anger over no Eliot at all.

He drained his glass and got up to head for the liquor cabinet. Looks like I'm going to be drinking after all today, Sammy. Sorry son, but you know how it is. I've got to find Eliot. Nate looked heavenward as he stood there after pouring his drink.

If it's not too much to ask Sam, how about you keep an eye on El for me? For all of us. Keep him alive until we can get to him and I promise you I will try and do better. I truly promise, son. And as Nate prayed to one son to protect another, he brought his third drink of the day to his lips.

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Roughly about 2:30 PM

Matthew Whitmore looked out the window of his office after hanging up the phone. Damn he thought. He'd hoped this day would never come, but here it was and now he was in deep shit. After he got Eliot back, _if_ he got Eliot back, he was going to have to explain to the man how the brother he'd thought he'd killed five years ago was back from the dead.

After Matt had managed to find Eliot and get him help out of Damien Moreau's operation, thanks to a call from General Flores in San Lorenzo, he'd let Eliot think he'd really killed Evan Chapman, his brother. Eliot hadn't known Evan was his brother at the time he'd killed him; he learned the truth afterwards. Evan Chapman was the name the Air Force had given him when they'd created him a new identity after getting him away from Moreau in exchange for all the information he had on Moreau. That identity was supposed to protect him, but somehow Moreau had found him and he'd sent Eliot to kill him.

Evan Taylor had been working for the Defense department on a case to take down Moreau, but he'd gone AWOL from the military and had gone deep into Moreau's team. He'd switched sides. When things had gone sideways on a job he was doing for the man, Moreau blamed Evan for it and when you fell out of favor with Moreau you ended up dead; that's when Evan had made contact with the military to make a deal try to save himself.

Evan had contacted him and Colonel Vance and promised to give up all the information he had on Moreau in exchange for immunity and a new identity. But that had been before Moreau had found out what Evan was doing and how he was related to Eliot. It was Moreau who told Eliot the truth about the man he'd killed.

Only Eliot hadn't really killed Evan. He…well he'd killed someone else planted in Evan's place and a damn good lookalike Matt had to admit it, cause he'd fooled Eliot. But when Eliot had found out who Evan really was, he'd lost it. He'd gone on a no holds barred mission doing whatever Moreau asked him to do. And when Matt had gotten word that Eliot was headed to San Lorenzo to kill the General, he'd headed there himself. He'd taken a couple of guys from Eliot's old ops team and they'd found Eliot rescuing the General instead of killing him. He'd finally broken down in the middle of the mission and he just couldn't kill the General.

That had been almost five years ago and Matt hadn't heard from Eliot in all that time. Eliot had wandered from place to place for over a year before joining up with Nate Ford's crew and slowly Eliot had started keeping in sporadic touch with Emma, but he'd never called him. He'd never contacted either Matt or Vance in anyway. So that's why Matt had been surprised that El had given Nate Ford his number in case he needed him.

Matt sighed as he thought about his wife. He smiled woefully as he remembered the young woman at Eliot's graduation of boot camp before he went home for a few days to visit. This was his only time for a visit before he was to be sent overseas on his first tour of duty. That had been when Matt knew he was lost. Something happened to Eliot when he'd gone home and Matt hadn't really understood until Emma explained it later that it was because of Aimee. She hadn't waited for Eliot. The boy had been angry when he'd come back and he had tried Matt's authority at every turn. They'd had their ups and downs, but Emma had been Matt's saving grace.

Because of her, he'd done everything to make sure he and then Major Vance managed to keep the redneck pain in the ass boy out of trouble. But the trouble with Eliot Spencer was that trouble was his middle name. And he _liked_ his middle name. He loved being a soldier and he'd taken quickly to anything that was thrown at him. And he'd been leading his own team by the time he was 19. An unheard of thing in the regular military, but not Black Ops. Didn't matter how old he was as long as he was a leader. And Eliot Spencer was a leader.

He was good at it, and he had the respect of every man who'd ever worked under him no matter how old he was. Eliot had worked hard and he'd earned his right to be called Commander. Then that mission in the south of Iraq had taken them all down. The man had gotten taken from his team and they'd lost him. They'd finally found him, but not before Eliot had taken every known torture tactic known to man. And Matt cringed when he remembered that. Literally every known tactic. Everything had been done to that boy; everything. But he'd come back. He'd come back, but then again he hadn't.

Eliot Spencer had left a part of himself in that sandpit and Matt had been sure he'd never be able to get it back. That's when Eliot left the military and went out on his own. He'd worked alone for a long time before being recruited by Damien Moreau. When word spread that Eliot was working for the other side, a lot of men were surprised. The man had been a soldier, a good one. But after what happened to him, he'd gotten himself in a bad place and ended up with the enemy.

Matt had heard of what Eliot had been doing for Nathan Ford. Whatever had happened to Eliot during his time between leaving Damien and joining Nathan, Matt didn't know much about. But he had kept tabs on him since he'd been with Nate. And he was happy the man was finally doing something that could now be considered good. Something that was similar to what he'd done in the beginning of his career.

Matt understood better than anyone the way Eliot felt about himself and he knew most soldiers felt the same way. But he also knew that Eliot had to feel he had some good in him somewhere because he was trying to do the right thing now. God only knew just how much the man was trying to do good. Eliot had was trying because Matt knew he needed to feel that he could still be good. That he could still somehow be that green soldier that once dreamed of making a difference in this world. He'd been a soldier and a damn good one, but then he'd been a killer. A damn good one. And now he just wanted to be. Didn't matter what he did as long as he could just be.

He sighed again as he realized he needed to contact Vance. He'd need his help on this because Matt knew for a fact that if anyone had Eliot it would be Evan Chapman. And that wasn't good. Evan Chapman had been a bad guy when he'd first came into the Air Force and he'd left an even badder guy. And he'd left vowing to kill those that had taken his life from him. Vowing to get back at everyone who'd outed him to Damien Moreau and back at the military that had turned on him. Yeah, Matt thought. They had turned on him because Evan Chapman was the real bad guy here. Not Eliot Spencer.

Matt sighed as he picked up the phone and made his call. He had a lot of work to do and he only had three hours to get ready. He needed a miracle here, or at the very least he needed a little good luck and he knew that Eliot didn't have much time left.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

_I Have Hours, Only Lonely_

_My Love Is Vengeance_

_That's Never Free_

_Somewhere in Eliot's Past_

_Eliot smiled to himself as he walked to the barn to check on the horses for the night after leaving the kitchen and his sister who had just called him 'little' behind. He'd never admit it to anyone, especially Emma, but his height or general lack of compared to her two inches over him, didn't really bother him. He'd always been taught by their father that it didn't really matter what people saw, it was more important what they didn't see. And Eliot could hold his own. Always had and always would._

_He kind of liked the fact that being a little shorter helped him move faster and he was able to scale rocks and rough terrain more easily than most boys his age. He was good at sports and while basketball would never be in his future (he didn't really care for the sport anyway), he knew football was. He was good at it and it was because people didn't really see him coming until it was too late. He liked being on the junior high school's team and looked forward to trying out when he hit high school next year. He liked being the one that surprised others when they'd already dismissed him so easily because of his height._

_And it wasn't just sports that Eliot excelled in. He liked that he could move through crowds of people and not be noticed. He had a stealth about him and he liked that. His father told him it was because of his Cherokee heritage. He said that Eliot was built like an Indian warrior of old. And Eliot liked that idea; being a warrior. He loved hearing his father talk about their heritage and he knew in his heart that everything he was and would ever be was all about who his family had been. If nothing else, Eliot believed very strongly that who his family had been was who Eliot would one day become. He longed to be a real warrior in this world and he'd decided recently that he was thinking about seeking a career that would in some way allow him to help people who couldn't help themselves. He'd decided he was going to enter the military instead of going to college when he graduated from high school._

_He hadn't told anyone about his decision, but after hearing from his aunt and uncle how his cousin Evan was planning on entering the Air Force, he was thinking he may say something soon. But something about Evan entering the military had Eliot thinking. He'd been surprised at the news because Evan had never made any kind of remarks about ever being interested in the military before. In fact when his twin brother Eaton had joined, he'd made rude comments. He'd acted like an ass in front of his parents about the whole thing and Eliot's parents had seemed even more upset about Evan's display than his own parents had._

_Eliot didn't know the two men that well because they were almost eight years older than him, but he liked Eaton and didn't really like Evan much at all. From what Eliot knew of him, Evan was always getting in trouble in one way or another, especially with the law. Eliot remembered his Uncle Marty having to bail him out of jail on several different occasions, so it was a little surprising that suddenly Evan would want to be in such a structured organization such as the military. The man hated being told what to do and as far as Eliot was concerned the guy was a bully and a coward. He was always blaming others for everything that went wrong with his life. He never took ownership of his own actions._

_But Eaton was the exact opposite of Evan. He cared about people and he said as much when he'd decided to enlist in the Air Force almost a year ago. He was currently stationed somewhere in Nevada near Las Vegas and that's where Eliot's aunt and uncle were living now. They'd moved out there after Eaton had been permanently stationed. Eliot admired Eaton and his choice to help others and that was one of the reasons he'd decided on the military. But he was thinking more about joining the Army instead. He wanted a chance to be a more hands on soldier and he didn't really care for flying much._

_Eliot finished up with the horses giving them some extra hay and grain for the night as his thoughts kept going back to his visiting relatives. His mother had two step-brothers, Uncle Marty and Uncle Ross who lived in Wyoming. Eliot didn't know much about his mother's father other than he'd died unexpectedly when she was young and her mother had remarried to a widowed man with two sons of his own. She loved both brothers as if they really were her blood, but Uncle Marty was her favorite._

_Eliot smiled 'cause they'd all heard how Uncle Marty had taken on a couple bullies that had been tormenting his little step-sister not long after they'd come together as a family. It was no secret that the boys hadn't really liked the idea of being saddled with a sibling especially a sister, but that day changed their lives forever and cemented the bond between the two that to this day hadn't even cracked as far as Eliot knew._

_He thought he'd go back and tell his visiting relatives good night before he retired to his room to study for that dang history test he had tomorrow. Eliot hated tests, but he was good with history. He had a head for facts and tidbits always stuck in his mind. Some things seemed useless, but always seemed to pop up when he needed them. He had a knack for remembering things, but tests terrified him. They put him in a worry mode and it took Emma to come to his rescue once when he'd thought he'd simply just rather keel over and die than face a math test he had coming up._

_She had taught him a trick about treating tests like they were nothing more than classroom work. Just pretend he was doing a homework assignment in class and handle them as if they weren't all that important, because in reality they really weren't what made him smarter. Learning is what made him smarter, tests were just a way to gauge what a person knew. So Eliot had tried that, and he'd been surprised at how right she was. He just treated the tests as another paper to fill out and he'd actually improved dramatically over the past few months._

_But this test would be different. They were currently learning about the Trail of Tears in history class and Eliot felt a personal bond to the people that had been forced from their homeland in Georgia to be relocated to Oklahoma. He had descended from a survivor of this injustice and knew that what they'd endured in their journey was wrong. His father had told him that in the Cherokee language the event is refered to_ Nu na da ul tsun yi – _the place where they cried – and that nearly a third of the group died. Eliot knew the numbers of the dead varied because no one had a real record of who these people really were since they didn't really care, but he was willing to bet that the total of 4, 000 that is cited in his history book was probably low from the stories his father's father's father had passed down._

_Eliot knew if he'd been a young warrior in that day and age, he'd probably be dead now because he would have fought for their freedom to remain on his land and so he could understand the heart that most of his ancestors put in their stories of the past. He hated what had been done to his ancestors, but he hated seeing what happened ot others' ancestors as well such as the slavery issues leading up to the civil war. Eliot believed no man deserved to be put above another simply because of the color of his skin. Everyone was human and therefore his equal. He smiled when he remembered how Emma called him a bleeding heart loyalist._

_She understood though, things got to her too. She'd never tease Eliot too harshly about his feelings though because she was very protective of her brother. She sometimes told him that he 'felt' too much though and he needed to learn to control himself or he'd be taken down by the wrong person. And then she'd call him a girl or call him Ellie or something before running off. All of it just made Eliot smile. He loved her and his family and he'd take care of himself._

_Eliot knew she was right though. He did need to keep his feelings more hidden, but it was just so damn hard to put them away whenever something that he knew was wrong was being done to another person. He'd gotten into a couple scrapes already just from protecting fellow schoolmates from bullies. He hated bullies more than anything and he didn't tolerate one person trying to control another in any way. He especially hated any kind of abuse in any way._

_He had only known a loving family so it was hard sometimes to understand how some mothers or fathers could actually abuse their kids. His parents would never hit him just because he was in their way. They might punish him and Eliot knew his mamma would whoop his ass if he did something wrong, but it was basically just a saying. She'd never actually laid a hand on him that he could remember. He couldn't remember her ever hitting any of his siblings either. He knew that just seeing the hurt look on her face at something he did was more than enough for Eliot to take whatever punishment came._

_Now his father was a different story. The man never abused any of his kids either, but if they'd needed their butts whooped he did it. No problem. And Eliot could understand that. However as they grew older, his father didn't follow that guide much anymore. He sided with his wife in punishment when it was doled out on Emma and Eliot. They were older and busting their butts wouldn't make a difference other than they hurt for a little while. He was smart enough to know that they needed something that would make more of an impact, like taking away their riding priviledges. That killed Emma more than Eliot, but it hurt him too._

_Horses were their life here on their small ranch, but Eliot could live without them easier than Emma. Now if his dad took away his books or his guitar, then that would get to Eliot more. He loved reading and learning and music was what he used to help control his feelings. He used music to keep his emotions in check._

_Eliot shook off these thoughts though as he walked past the open window of the dining room to head for the front of the house so he could avoid seeing Emma who he knew was still in the kitchen doing dishes. He chuckled as he thought about the fact he really had used just about every dish in the cabinets for their dinner._

_As he passed the window though the conversation he heard gave him pause. He suddenly stopped altogether at the sound of his name being used in the discussion between the four adults still seated at the dining table. His name had been used along with Evan and Eaton's. Eliot listend quietly as he heard what he never even suspected in his thirteen years and couldn't believe he was hearing now._

_"_ _Well as long as the kids never find out the truth that's all I care about. Especially Eliot. The other children don't worry me as much, but Eliot? He won't rest until he knows every single detail. He won't rest until he has the truth and that's something he can never know. The turth would ruin this family and I have to think of my other children. I know you understand that Marty." Came Eliot's mother, Mary's voice._

_Uncle Marty's voice came then. "We understand, Mary. Really we do and we agree. Eliot would be the one most hurt by this. Marie and I have decided that we will destroy any trail that can connect the children to Evan and Eaton. I promise you, if you agree with our decision, then Evan will not get the answers he's demanding. I promise you he will not learn anything from us anyway." The man paused as if he was thinking of what to say next before he slowly continued. "We made both of you a promise over twenty years ago and we will stand by that promise. We just wanted the both of you to know what Evan was up to and what we suspect is the real reason he decided to leave for the military. You have the right to know."_

_"_ _Thank you for that Marty." This was Eliot's dad's voice, Jack Spencer. "But you're wrong. We don't have the right to know. We forfeited those rights that day long ago." His father's voice seemed to choke up here as Eliot continued to listen._

_His mother picked up for his father. "Jack's right. We gave up any right to know anything when I…when you had to raise Evan and Eaton. We forfeited a lot of things that day…" Eliot couldn't help but hear the break in his mother's voice as he heard her raspy voice pause during the converstation. He heard his father move from his chair to come console his wife. Eliot could feel his father doing it and he knew something wasn't right with this whole conversation._

_What did his parents mean he thought. What had they given up? And what's more what did they want to hide from all of us kids especially me? What had happened twenty years ago?_

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Roughly about 3:00 PM

Nate sat at the table in his sort of kitchen dining area and he watched Hardison across the room clicking away on his computer. The boy was working his fingers off trying to find something on Eliot. Nate sighed as he took in the fact that Parker was outside the window behind him working with her gear as she climbed up the building to just throw herself off again. And again. And again. He sighed has he counted this as her eighteenth time so far.

He couldn't help thinking his team was trying to deal with things the only way they knew how. They were dealing by doing what they were good at. Sophie was sitting next to him and was watching to make sure he didn't do what he was good at. Namely reaching for the whisky bottle that she kept subconsciously moving farther and farther away from his hands.

Nate sighed again as he looked longingly at the bottle, but he tried to push the urge to just get up and get the damn bottle because he knew no matter how quickly he moved, Sophie would beat him to it. He turned from the bottle to look in her deep brown eyes as she continued to keep one eye on him and the other on the bottle.

He'd told them about the call he'd made to Eliot's friend and that he would be here in the next couple of hours with help and that the man had a good idea where Eliot might be. Nate had asked Hardison to start working on checking all the surveilance cameras he could hack between them and Eliot's safe house for anything out of the ordinary. The problem was that when Eliot had been taken it had been dark and they didn't even know how he'd been transported, but at least it was something that kept Haridson busy.

He hadn't told them who the man that was coming to help was or how he was related to Eliot. That was Matthew's business if he wanted the team to know any details. All the others knew was that the man was from Eliot's military days and that he'd help. That's all they needed to really know for now. They just needed to concentrate on finding Eliot. It was just that simple.

Eliot needed to know when he came back that he still had his privacy. And his secrets. They all had to know that the team cared for each of them, but that the others would also respect their privacy because their secrets were what made them who they were today. Eliot especially needed to know that he was protected from any invasion of privacy. Nate knew how much the man felt he was not a good man and that no matter how much good he'd done in his life he'd never be clean of the blood on his hands from his past life.

But Nate knew in his heart that Eliot was not a bad man. He didn't think Eliot had ever really been a bad man. He'd been through some tough times, made some choices that had taken him down one road instead of another and that led to bad things, but the choices he'd made were what made him a good man. He'd made choices in order to protect others. Eliot was always doing things to damage himself in order to save others no matter what he led you to believe.

Yes, he'd done bad things, but that didn't make him a bad man. Nate truly believed that whatever things Eliot had had to do in the past, he'd had to do. He'd done bad to somehow do good. Nate seriously doubted that the Eliot Spencer he knew had ever made a decision to harm another living soul just because he had wanted to harm them. The man he knew was weighed down too much by his heart. The man had too much guilt in his soul and a bad man didn't care about guilt. Eliot carried that guilt with him everywhere everyday until it damn near broke his back. He'd had a bad life, but he'd tried. The trouble with Eliot Spencer was that no one could make him believe it because the man was his own worst enemy.

Nate thought about the package sitting on the coffee table where he'd put it a little while ago in preparation. He'd promised, he thought. Eliot had given him the package back before they'd gone to San Lorenzo to rescue General Flores and to take down Damien Moreau permanently. Eliot had given him instructions that if anything happened to him, he wanted Nate to deliver the contents of the package. The package contained letters; 7 letters to be exact and Nate had been angry when he'd discovered what Eliot had been thinking.

It was almost as if Eliot had planned on not coming back; as if taking down Moreau would be his last act on earth, but during the plan ride over he'd thought of what Eliot had done to protect him and the Italian in that warehouse and Nate knew then that Eliot was being realistic. Damien Moreau would not let Eliot out alive this time if Nate's plan failed. He knew then that Eliot had been working behind the team's back in secret to try and take down Moreau alone so he could protect them.

It finally dawned on him as he sat in his seat on that flight, sipping at his constant drinking companion that Eliot did know exactly what Moreau was capable of. Better than anyone in this world and that by keeping his history with Moreau a secret from them he was protecting them from the man's wrath. If the team didn't know of Eliot's link to Moreau, then Moreau would not go after them. He'd only take down Eliot because he knew if you wanted to end this team his best shot was to take out their hitter. Take out Eliot and they'd be forced to break apart as well. Then they wouldn't be any threat to him.

No matter how smart they each were, they were no match for Moreau without Eliot's protection. But what Moreau didn't know was that Eliot was much more than just their hitter. He was their friend, their brother, their family. And if Moreau took Eliot, he'd face their wrath in a thousand different ways. They may not have been able to take him down after losing Eliot, but they would have been able to make his life miserable.

That was something Eliot hadn't thought of because he didn't think he was that important to anyone, least of all them. The man didn't realize that they not only depended on him, they loved him. Eliot was the backbone of this team. Anyone could be trained to be a hacker. They'd never have the flair Hardison that had, but they'd be competent enough to do a job. Ditto for Parker. The girl was just too crazy to be duplicated, but Nate knew he could find another thief to do a job. He'd miss Hardison and Parker, but the team could move forward. They'd just never have his heart like those two did.

He could also find another competent grifter, although he'd never replace Sophie as the woman he loved, that wouldn't be possible. But the point was anyone could be replaced on skills alone. But to make them all a family, they needed the other things like Hardison's flair, Parker's crazy, Sophie's… well just Sophie.

But the person who kept them all in line was Eliot. He was Hardison's friend, his brother. The two fought like brothers, but Eliot would take a bullet for Hardison. And Parker, Eliot knew Parker was crazy but he would throw himself off a building for her. Hell he had thrown himself off a building for her. And Eliot watched out for Sophie and not just because she was important to the team, but because she was important to Nate. Eliot had sent Sophie flowers and Parker a plant for Nate and Hardison when they'd needed to know they were appreciated when the guys hadn't even thought about doing that.

That's the kind of man Eliot Spencer was. He wasn't bad. Bad guys didn't go around rescuing puppies and sending flowers for others. They didn't remember everyone's birthdays or favorite foods or their passions. Eliot did. Eliot remembered Sam's birthday and he would watch over Nate whenever he could on that day. No, Eliot was all they had and they were going to get him back no matter what, Nate thought. He smiled at Sophie as she continued to study him.

"Thinking really hard there aren't you, Nate?" She spoke softly just for his ears.

"Always." He smiled again as he thought of all the times this woman sitting next to him had stood by him too.

Then he made a decision. He'd promised Eliot then and even if they got Eliot back, the team needed to know how much Eliot really did care for them. He'd give them their letters and hold the others back until he actually needed to send those. There were letters for each of them Hardison, Sophie, Parker and himself. The other three were for Eliot's sister, Aimee and Eliot's father. No matter the outcome, they needed to know just how important each of them were to the man.

"Parker!" Nate turned to the window and yelled just as he saw a flash of blonde hair go sailing by. "Get in here, I need to update you guys on a couple of things. Hardison park your screens for now and let's meet up at the couch."

Parker slowly climbed in the window and unhooked her rigging line to drop just inside on the floor and then she bounded over to perch on the back of the couch just as Hardison dropped down in front of her with his bottle of orange soda in his hand.

Nate turned to Sophie and pulled her to her feet to lead her over to the couch and let her settle down next to Hardison while he walked around the coffee table to stand in front of them with the package lying there between them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

_When My Fist Clenches, Crack It Open_

_Before I Use It And Lose My Cool_

_When I Smile, Tell Me Some Bad News_

_Before I Laugh And Act Like A Fool_

Roughly about 3:30 PM

"Isn't this sweet?" Came the somewhate mocking voice of Evan Chapman from the doorway to the room where Eliot lay hooked up to all the medical equipment.

Eliot jerked his head at the voice and then wished he hadn't. The move sent a wave of nausea rushing through him and he so didn't want to find himself in need of throwing up when he suspected there was nothing more than fluids in his system. That was the worst kind of nausea. He slowly closed his eyes to steal himself against the rolling room and to calm his stomach as he pushed his head back onto his pillow.

"Well, it was until you stopped by." He managed to say as he felt Katharine slip her hand in his right one close to her leg. He knew the gesture was meant to help ease his pain, but he suspected – rather he hoped – she was doing so for a deeper reason. He opened his eyes to see her smiling softly down at him.

 _I'm on your side. I'm here._ She was silently telling him and he smiled back at her. _Thank you._ He said with his own smile.

Evan took in the look between the two and he couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up and out as he said, "Eliot always did have a way with the ladies, nurse." He moved into the room followed closely by another man in a white lab coat; Eliot could only assume this was the doctor.

"If I were you nurse," Evan began, letting his disdain for the two show in the way he said the word nurse. "I'd be careful around my brother. He tends to have an eye for anything in a skirt...or pants...or a uniform." He added as he stepped closer to the two.

To her credit, Katharine didn't even flinch at his words. The only clue she'd even heard Evan's mocking tone was the gentle squeeze she gave Eliot's hand that she still held. Evan seemed to notice the gesture and simply smiled at Eliot as he took this in too.

"Don't worry Evan. I'm not going anywhere. You've made sure of that haven't you?" Eliot replied as he gently moved his hand to show he was still restrained. He knew what Evan was thinking and he didn't want Katharine in Evan's sights. Nothing good would come from that. "But I think you should tell the nurse exactly why I'm being restrained considering the condition I'm in." Eliot's tone was even and neutral, but his eyes were anything but. He looked at Evan with the hatred he'd had for the man growing up.

"Well, the restraints were just a pre-caution. You know Eliot, sometimes you tend to forget where you are when you come out of anesthesia and the doctor didn't want you to hurt yourself." Evan pointed to the man next to him. "This is your doctor, Dr. Richards."

Eliot slowly moved his eyes from Evan to take in the doctor. He sized him up in a second. White collar never married most likely thought himself a lady's man and he was just doing this for the money. No questions asked. Just another lackey as far as Eliot could see; although there was something about the man's eyes that gave him a feeling of deja vu.

"Oh, good then since he's awake and in no danger of hurting himself it's okay to remove the restraints now, right?" Katharine asked. She was addressing the doctor but her eyes never left Evan Chapman's.

Good girl Eliot thought. Tough. She wasn't gonna let Evan get to her, but he'd have to warn her just what kind of man Evan really was. She didn't really know what was going on here or how dangerouse Evan really was. He squeezed her hand hard to try and get her to tone it down a bit, but she didn't respond.

"I mean, he's awake and talking and seems to know exactly what's going on." Again she kept her attention focused only at Evan. She knew what Eliot was doing, but she was suddenly angry. She didn't know for sure why, probably because of his mocking tone, but she couldn't help thinking of her own brother, Luke. He'd been taken from her by someone like this Evan Chapman.

Interesting, Evan thought. This woman was more than just another skirt to fall for Eliot's good looks and charm. This one had a bit of spunk in her. He smiled at the woman. "What's your name nurse?" Again the disdain at her title.

Katharine slowly stood up to all five foot three inches of her. She barely came to Evan's shoulders, but she stood and with as much dignity as she could muster up she spoke to the man as if he were a child who needed to understand the proper way to address someone. "My name, Mr. Chapman, is Katharine Wakefield and while you may think I'm overstepping my bounds here with your disdain, I can assure you I am not. As you like to point out I may only a nurse, but my job as a nurse means that I take care of my patient's needs above all else. And I take my job very seriously."

She stood there eye to chest with Evan Chapman and damn Eliot thought to himself she'd won this round as he took in the slight flicker of something Eliot hadn't seen in a very long time cross over Evan's face. The man was momentarily surprised at the woman's strength. She'd managed to let the man know in just an instant that she was not just another lackey he could buy and sell. She was someone worthy of being watched and Eliot was even more worried now, because the woman was now on Evan's radar.

"Nurse Wakefield!" Dr. Richards chastized her. "Mr. Chapman is our employer and you should show him that respect."

Katharine never broke eye contact with Evan though as she responded to the doctor. "I am showing him respect, Doctor. I'm just also making sure that my patient is given the same respect." She slowly turned her eyes to meet the doctor's. "I mean that's the oath we all take – to do no harm and to protect our patients' by any means possible. Correct?"

The doctor had the good grace to look sheepish as he realized that she was also telling him exactly what she thought he was doing. She knew he was more interested in the money than in Eliot's care and he knew she was right. He needed to be watching out for Eliot's care.

"Yes." He answered slowly. "You are right. Our patient is important." He turned to Evan as he next spoke. "Perhaps it would be all right to remove the restraints now seeing that Mr. Chapman is awake and in no danger of injuring himself." He spoke with a bit of anxiety in his voice. While he knew Katharine was right he also elicited a fear of Evan Chapman in his voice.

Eliot picked up on it right away and couldn't help the smirk he sent Evan's way. "Yes Evan, maybe you could remove the restraints just for now?" He mocked the man. You may have the doctor on your side, but I have the nurse. Who wins this round?

Evan knew as well as Eliot even with his hands restrained, hurt or not, Eliot was still a dangerous man. But Evan also sensed that Eliot wasn't going anywhere until he got answers and their shared silent communication said volumes. Eliot was not going to let Evan anywhere near Katharine if he could help it; so Evan knew as long as the nurse was here, so was Eliot. "Of course, by all means, Ms. Wakefield. Please remove the restraints." He used a neutral tone, but Eliot however did not miss the fact that Evan was now slightly weary of the nurse.

"Thank you Mr. Chapman." Katharine turned back to Eliot and carefully moved to release the restraint over him on his left side first before she moved to his right side closest to her.

Eliot smiled inwardly as he realized what the woman had just done and then he also realized that this woman was not just a meek and mild nurse. He carefully moved his left hand while she was working on his other one to hide the object she'd slid into it. Eliot felt somewhat better with the restraints off and he carefully gripped Katharine's left wrist with his right hand as he forced her to look him in the eye.

 _Who are you?_ He silently conveyed.

She smiled at him. _A friend._

She slowly moved away and after the doctor looked Eliot over to be sure he was progressing well, Evan moved to stand next to Eliot's bed once again.

"Perhaps doctor, you and nurse Wakefield wouldn't mind leaving us for a moment while I talk in private with my brother?"

"Of course Mr. Chapman." Doctor Richards stated as he moved to the doorway.

Katharine quickly looked from Evan to Eliot in a slight panic. She didn't want to leave him just yet, but at the silent nod from Eliot she refrained from saying anything. She simply turned to follow the doctor from the room.

"So Evan, mind explaining why you sent someone to kill me and then save me?" Eliot asked once he was sure the doctor and Katharine were out of the room. He remembered the object she'd slipped in his hand and he'd quickly hidden it under the blankets under his hip as the doctor had been messing with checking his bandages on that side.

Evan missed the manuever as he was intent on watching Katharine. He now realized that the nurse wasn't going to be as easy to manipulate as the good doctor and that was something he'd have to make arrangements for. Just in case.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 3:45 PM

Alec Hardison had had a somewhat hard life in the beginning, but after being taken in as a kid by his Nana, he'd learned a lot about human nature. And the fact that Eliot Spencer had written each of his team members a letter in case he died back during the San Lorenzo job just made him question everything he knew to date about the man.

The Eliot Spencer he knew would never say anything about his feelings let alone write them down, so death must have been a very real possibility for him. More than he'd led them to believe. That or he'd feared something worse than death to lead him to write these.

Hardison sighed as he sat in the living area of his private loft next to Nate's. The man had asked them all to leave to read the letters in private if they chose to. Alec smiled to himself as he recalled how Parker had thrust her letter back at Nate and said she wasn't reading anything because Eliot was alive and he'd have a huge fit if they read these before that.

Nate had understood but said the letter would be right there on the coffee table if she changed her mind. Alec knew for now she wouldn't, but he figured sooner or later she would. Simply because she would think about the fact that Eliot had written her a letter and that would mean he cared, even if he was a grouchy bear she loved to poke.

He looked at the letter in his hands as he turned it over and over. It was fairly thick, there had to be at least 3 or 4 pages in there. He'd noticed his and Nate's seemed to be the thickest in comparison to Parker's and Sophie's, but no where near as thick as the one for Eliot's sister. Or Aimee's. He thought those letters had to be the hardest. He didn't know why, but the one he saw for Eliot's father seemed to be the thinnest and he wondered how Eliot couldn't come up with more to say to the man that had raised him.

Must be some other family issues there he thought. But those were Eliot's issues, not Hardison's. He slowly ripped the envelope open as he made his choice and pulled the pages from inside. Five pages, he thought. Wow.

_Hardison,_

_Well, if you're reading this, I didn't make it back with the team from San Lorenzo. I can only hope if_ you _are reading this, then you did. And that's good. Really good._

_So, first off I know you're probably thinking something's wrong if Eliot wrote you a letter, right? Yeah that's what I thought too when I first put pen to paper, but then I decided I'd already written one for Nate, so I needed to let you know a few things as well._

_Where do I start? Well, let's begin by just getting things straight here, bro. Yes, bro, because no matter how much you drive me crazy, you are my bro._

_You are the first and foremost cornerstone of this team. Without you, we might as well walk away 'cause we ain't gonna be able to accomplish anything without you having our backs._

_Just remember that as I tell you that even if I am gone, I'm still very much there with you right now. I may not have told you how I felt, but I tried. In my own way. And don't rub it in okay?_

_I tried my best to protect all of you and I know I should have told all of you about my past with Damien Moreau, but I just didn't know how. Not because I wanted to protect him, but because I wanted to protect you guys. I knew what Damien was capable of and I didn't want him to get to any of you._

_And I know I haven't apologized for letting you almost drown in the pool during our meeting with him, but you gotta understand my reasoning. I asked you to go with me for a reason. I couldn't take Nate, because of the obvious. Damien knew about Nate through the Italian. I couldn't take either Parker or Sophie because…well let's just say Damien and Chapman have a thing about women. You saw the group of women with him didn't you?_

_Well for Damien women are good for only one thing. That's it for him. And Chapman, well let me just say that he is the last person I'd want near them. He has a reputation for taking what he wants from women. I hope you understand what I mean._

_So to protect them I took you, because I knew I needed an in somehow and I also knew I could handle Damien with the right cover. But you gotta believe this Hardison. I would never have let you drown. Never. I would have blown the whole con if he'd been one second longer throwing that key._

_I hope you can understand my position in that and know that I am sorry. But I'm more sorry that my past has come back to hurt you more than anything else. I really wished I hadn't had you find out like you did, but more I wish I hadn't had a past with the man. You have to know that I wish I could change that over everything I've done in my life._

_So believe me when I tell you I know I'm not a good man. I'm just tryin' my damnedest to be the best one I'm capable of being. I know it isn't much, but it's all I have._

_Look, I kept you and the others safe for as long as I could. And I even shared some of myself with you guys. I cooked for all of you and that's a treat for me. I even let you take me 'fishin' once. Even if it was on a video game and let me just say this, that was the worst fishin' trip I ever had. And it was the best at the same time. I spent time with you so that made up for the lack of actually bein' able to reel in a big one._

_Now don't get me wrong, I still hate the video 'cause dude it's so not the same thing, but I will admit it was kind of okay spending time away from jobs and enjoyin' a brotherly kind of thing._

_That said, you gotta get out more. Step away from the screens and go outside. Yeah, I know you hate outside, you told me that on our first fishin' trip, but take Parker somewhere. She'll make up for the outside you hate so much. Go on a picnic or somethin', but don't just sit inside and don't go thinkin' about me. I'm okay. This is the way it should be. This is the way it was always supposed to be. I made my life, bro; so now I'm gonna go out because of it._

_I know Parker's crazy and a picnic for her may mean you have to drink champagne off the side of the Chrysler building or something, but at least you're outside and you're with Parker. And that's the way it should be._

_Remember enjoy your life and keep Nate in hand. Call him on his drinkin' and go see Sophie's plays and keep teaching Parker about pretzels. Yeah I know all about pretzels, dude. I'm a hitter, I'm not stupid._

_I've seen you two and I remember pretzels too. So just remember to take care of her and the team. You are the one I'm putting my trust in to keep them together when I'm not there. I need to know you will try to watch over them the same way you always have. And while I admit you're good, I'm not gonna confess my undying feelings here 'cause just in case I ain't dead, I don't want to hear you rub it in. And trust me if there's anyway I can get back I will be back. Believe that._

_The one thing I've learned about being a part of this team is that you are all family. My family. And while I've not had the most pleasant past, being a part of this team has been my one saving grace. My only regret is that if I'm not there, I won't be a part of the family anymore._

_However just remember this, I am watching. And if you fuck up in any way Hardison I will be there to kick your ask! Or haunt your ass! Yeah if it's in anyway possible, I will be the one to come back and haunt you. I already have plans._

_If you happen to have some compluter glitches, think of me. I already wrote a program of my own that is set to work it's way into your software. Yeah, I hacked you dude! I've learned a few things. Just remember that. Not just a pretty face here!_

_Of course if you're too worried right now, you can just go check some of your older 'Doctor Who' files. Besides they weren't that great anyway. Who calls a doctor 'Who' anyway? Don't make no sense. Can't understand that at all._

_So long Bro,_

_El_

Hardison felt the tear hit the last page as he'd tried hard to keep it from falling, but failed. He couldn't help thinking the guy really knew just where to hit. He laughed as he pictured having a picnic with Parker on top of the Chrysler building. Maybe someday when he lost all his brain cells. Yeah sure.

Then suddenly something else hit him. He wouldn't. Oh, man. Hardison jumped up and ran to his computer screen and rapidly hit a bunch of the keys in his hurry to pull up a file he was looking for. He hadn't seen these older shows of his beloved series in a while.

When he hit play and heard the familiar electronic tune of the Doctor Who theme come through he breathed a deep sigh of relief. Then suddenly the entire apartment seemed to reverberate with the resounding strains of Eliot's voice as he repeated the same phrase over and over. And over again. And Hardison hung his head. If Eliot isn't already dead he soon would be.

_Damn it Hardison! Damn it Hardison! Damn it Hardison! Damn it Hardison!_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

_If I Swallow Anything Evil_

_Put Your Finger Down My Throat_

_If I Shiver, Please Give Me A Blanket_

_Keep Me Warm, Let Me Wear Your Coat_

Roughly about 4:00 PM

"What's going on here, Mark?" Katharine turned on the doctor as soon as they were outside the room. "Why is that man being restrained and why is that man Evan Chapman keeping him here?"

Katharine was no idiot. True she'd come to help the doctor on the promise of being well paid to care for a gunshot patient that could not be taken to a hospital. The reasons Dr. Mark Richards had given her were that a family friend's brother had a precarious position with the government and they couldn't let his enemies know they hadn't succeeded in killing him. But now she wasn't sure what the truth was. It all screamed intrigue.

She had connections to the government in the form of the military herself. She'd lost her baby brother and then her older brother both in the Gulf war back in 2003 and 2004 and her husband had been in the war too. She'd lost him afterwards, with her daughter, but she didn't think about that right now. She had grown up an Army brat and her father had been a Vietnam veteran. She knew military the minute she saw it and Eliot Spencer was military all the way down to his toes. But she knew he was more than that. He was black or had been at one time. Deep dark black ops.

The man was more than what he'd allowed her to see and she knew he had done a lot and seen a lot because of his job so she didn't doubt the part of the story that he worked for the government, but after talking with him, she believed this Evan Chapman was not his brother. At least not in a conventional sense. Something was wrong here and she believed that Eliot was more a prisoner here. For all she knew – Evan Chapman could be the assassin meant to kill Eliot. But then she didn't understand why he'd been saved in the first place. Why kill and then not kill? One thing she knew for sure, Mark had no idea what was going on here.

Mark Richards sighed as he looked at Katharine Wakefield. He knew he shouldn't have involved her in this, but he'd needed a good surgical nurse and she was the best at Massachusetts General. He also knew she'd take the money and do her job. That is if he could keep her in the dark. He'd specifically left her instructions not to talk with the patient, but she'd done it anyway and he knew once Katharine got on a mission she was like a dog with a bone.

"Look, I'm not privy to all the details here. Evan Chapman is a high ranking officer in the Department of Defense and he said his brother had been injured and he needed help. He couldn't just take him to a hospital, it's all delicate. I know it's wrong to not report the gunshot wounds, but I figured since the government knew I was safe there, and the man needed my help. He would have died and he still could." The doctor ran a hand through his usually perfectly combed hair, and looked the woman directly in the eye. "I did what I took an oath to do. I helped a man that was dying and that's what I needed you to do. Help me save him and we have, so far. Let's just concentrate on his health and not the why. It's not our place to question that. For all we know he could be an assassin or something; maybe he's the bad guy here, and as such it's logical he'd be restrained."

"That man is not a bad man. I don't know about the assassin shit, but he's not a bad guy. He said Evan Chapman is not his brother, but they look enough alike to definitely be brothers, so there's something there, Mark. I don't like it at all." Katharine thought about it and she realized she'd never get Mark Richards to stand up and do anything. He was a weasel. A coward. He thought he was the next Dr. McSexy, but he'd never fooled Katharine. He was afraid of his own shadow if it were to turn on him. But he was the best thoracic surgeon at the hospital and he was very committed to the care of his patients. "Fine. I'll keep my mouth shut until we're done here, but just so you know, I really don't like this."

She knew she was on her own. She'd have to help Eliot Spencer herself. But she couldn't move him right now; that actually was the last thing this man needed. He was hooked up to machines. He had a two tubes in his chest for God's sake. And you couldn't just pull them out and walk away. One machine was keeping his lung inflated and releasing excess air due to the traumatic hemopneumothorax and another was draining the blood from his lung.

"Good, Kath. I think that's the best for now. Let's just make sure our patient lives for now and then we can worry about what's going on here." The man actually smiled at her as he patted her gently on her arm. "I'm just gonna head to my room for the night. Call me if anything changes in Mr. Chapman's vitals or anything happens. It's almost 6 now, so I'll relieve you in 12 hours." He handed her Eliot's chart and turned to head down the hall to the room he was using for the time being.

Katharine took the chart and set it down on the desk that had been set up outside Eliot's room for their use. She knew that she would have to change his transfusion bag as soon as Evan Chapman left him and then she'd try and see if he could handle some more ice. Then a thought hit her as she was absently thumbing through the chart.

Eliot was getting donated blood from his brother or whatever he really was, but something about that was bugging her. Wait, she thought. Eliot was AB positive which is a rare type. While it is not the rarest, it's close. Only about 4% of the worldwide population have AB positive. Which meant that while AB positive types can receive any blood type in a transfusion, they cannot donate except to another AB blood type through direct transfusions. Their blood is not accepted by other blood types. And Eliot's chart showed that Evan Chapman had AB positive too. This was significant. That meant the odds were greater that they were related.

This thought made her wonder what was going on here. She didn't know what to believe anymore. She believed Eliot when he said he didn't have a brother, but the blood typing was confusing. It was possible they could both be AB positive and not related, but it definitely made her think again. She needed more information here and she couldn't ask Evan Chapman and she wasn't going to ask Eliot.

No she needed to question someone who understood the deep dark secrets of the government and the military. She sighed as she realized she'd have to ask someone who had once been… well a friend. But she hadn't really talked to him since he'd come to her after her younger brother Luke's death. She had no idea where or what he was doing now, but she had one number that she knew would reach him.

She looked at the closed bedroom door and decided she would need to find someplace where she could make a call in private. She reached for her cell phone in her purse in the desk and pocketed it as she turned and headed down the hall outside to the terrace on the left side of the house in the back where she figured she'd find some kind of privacy. At least that's what she hoped. She had no idea she was being watched.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 4:15 PM

"Listen, I need some answers here and you're my only hope in this, Travis." Katharine said into her phone. She tried to keep her voice down, but she was having a hard time not getting angry with her brother's former best friend.

True she hadn't seen Travis is over ten years, but she had tried to keep in contact. The man was a ghost most of the time though. All she knew was he didn't work for anyone and yet he worked for everyone. He was deep into the black too. She knew that, so she hoped he'd help her out here.

She listened to the man's voice. "Look, Kat I'd love to help you, but I'm a little busy right now." He sounded winded as if he'd been working out or running.

Katharine smiled at the nickname Luke had given her a long long time ago and Travis refused to let die. She'd hated the name, but she'd always let Luke get away with it and as such Travis had picked up the habit. It brought back some old memories.

"I don't know what else to do here. The man is obviously into the same kind of thing you are and we both know you aren't a copy machine salesman. I don't see a big need for copy machines in the caves of Afghanistan or where ever you are right now. I can hear the echo and your out of breath, so you're either running or you're fighting. You can't fool me."

The man sighed on the other end. Damn the woman could get under his skin at the drop of a hat. "Okay fine. I can't possibly get to you before tomorrow night, but I'll try to expedite my departure from… my cave." He smiled at just how close she was. He wasn't in Afghanistan, but close – Uzbekistan's Peshagar was a cave, a big one. "What's his name?"

"Eliot Spencer."

The man choked on a breath at the name. Damn it again, he thought. Leave it to this woman to find the one man he had a rivalry with. "Kat, listen to me very carefully. Whatever you do, do not let anyone get to that man."

Katharine heard the strong tone of his voice. "Why? What's wrong? You know him, don't you?"

Travis Quinn couldn't help but smile at the memory of the broken ribs he'd taken three years ago from Spencer. Of course he'd given the man some of his own. "You could say that." He thought about this sudden turn of events. "Look the man is… well let's just say he's a colleague. I know what he's capable of, but I also know he's not into the same thing as me…at least not anymore. He's… well he's complicated."

"Am I safe with him?" Katharine suddenly panicked. Had she misread the man? Could he really be a bad guy? "Is he the bad guy?" She didn't want to think it possible that Eliot was bad, but she needed to know.

Quinn thought about that statement. "We're all bad guys Kat." He replied softly. "But let's just say, as long as you aren't on his radar, Eliot Spencer will not hurt you. I'll finish up here and take the next plane out. I'll call you tomorrow when I land. You have to find a way to get him out before then, do you understand? You can't stay there for long. This man who says he's his brother, well he probably has plans for Eliot and if you get in the way he won't hesitate to take you out of the equation."

"How the hell am I supposed to move him when he's hooked up to three different machines keeping him alive?"

Quinn thought about this. "He's really that close to death?" He was mildly surprised by that, but then again in their business they were always close to death.

"Yes!'" She gritted through her teeth at the man. "I can't pick him up and carry him out of here and I can't unhook him and roll him out the front door. There's guards all over this house. I can get him down to the basement where Dr. Richards has set up the test equipment and he has him scheduled for a scan in the morning before I go off duty, but the doctor would be with me. After that, I'm off duty for a few hours and come back on at 7 tomorrow night."

"Okay, I probably won't be there before then so that's good. See if you can get a lay of the land while you're off and I'll contact you while I'm en route with a plan. I'm gonna make a few calls and pull some help in for this. Just hang in there and if everything goes according to my plan, we will be coming for you. You won't have to get him out by yourself."

She breathed a sigh of relief at that, but she still was worried. "Travis, what about this Evan guy? Do you know him?"

Quinn thought about that. No one other than Eliot's own team knew very much about him, but he was willing to bet they didn't even know who this guy was. "There's only one guy I know of that may know who he is. I'll check that out too. Just hang in there and poke around descreetly. But be careful. And just wait. I'll be there, I promise."

Katharine ended her call as she stood there on the terrace thinking. She looked at her watch and realized she'd been there for at least twenty minutes and she needed to get back to Eliot in case something happened.

As she turned to return to her patient, she missed seeing Dr. Mark Richards looking down at her from the balcony overlooking the terrace.

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Roughly about 4:40 PM

Travis Quinn slowed his pace as he pocketed his cell phone. He wasn't actually in the cave or he wouldn't have been able to get reception to his cell, but he was as close to the entrance as he could get to avoid the men he'd just liberated the item in his pack from. He smiled as he quickly entered the cave to stow the item until he could get it to his client. He had other things to handle right now and he knew the item would be safe. For now.

He thought of his best friend, Lucas Malone as he hid the pack in the place he'd already selected for just this reason. He hadn't really thought of Luke in ten years, but with Kat's call he knew it would bring up memories. He owed his life to Luke on that last mission, so in turn he owed Kat his help. He'd always thought of Kat like his big sister too, so it wasn't hard to agree to help her. But for Eliot Spencer?

To say he knew Eliot was understating it. The two hadn't always been on the opposite side, but they'd had their share of competition to say the least. They both had handled jobs in the past that had brought them in contact on several occasions. They were both specialists in their field and they both knew the other's reputation. The only difference between them now was that Eliot had changed sides, if there were sides in their business.

The business usually meant you worked for who ever paid the most and that's what Quinn did. It was all business for him, just do the job and collect his payment then move on to the next job. But Eliot was different now. Some said he'd lost his nerve. Some said he'd given up.

But Quinn knew that neither were true after their showdown at that airplane hanger. Eliot Spencer still had it and he'd beaten him. He might have walked away hurt, but he'd been the one walking away. And that had reluctantly given Quinn pause. He'd had to admit that time that yes Eliot had changed, but he'd also remained true to who he was. That man was the best in the business and if he was now using his skills in a different capacity, then let him.

Quinn was not a team player, but if it worked for Spencer then so be it. He wasn't gonna put the man down for that. Besides he'd always known he'd be seeing him again and it looked like that was about to become true.

As he returned to the entrance of the cave cautiously noting he hadn't been followed, he decided that if he did this and helped Eliot, then he'd be even with the guy and they'd go back to their own corners of the world. And no one would ever have to know he'd actually helped the great Eliot Spencer out.

He smiled as he thought about that. Yeah he'd be helping Kat, but he'd also be doing something he'd never dreamed he do again since losing Luke. And that was helping out a friend.

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Roughly about 4:30 pm

Detective Bonanno listened as David Hoskins, his lead CSI on Eliot's case explained the test results from the tissue that Dr. McEvoy had sent to have run asap. This changed everything.

"So you're saying that because the tissue was showing signs of decomp that the remains were deceased before the bomb blast?" He asked to make sure he was understanding.

"That's right Patrick. I tested the rate of decomp on the tissue and it tells me that this man was dead at least 24-48 hours before he was blown up in the blast. So that and the other results you have prove it can't be Eliot Spencer." He replied evenly. "I also can tell you that after examining the tissue, I'd say the man was in his late seventies at least. Maybe a little older, but he'd been in relatively good health I think. I mean I couldn't find any kind of decease in the tissue, but of course that doesn't mean anything without the organs to test. There's no way to tell how he died though."

"Late seventies?" The detective repeated. "Maybe it's an uncle. I spoke with his sister and their father is alive and he just turned 63. Now I have a whole new set of questions to work on."

"I've got Spencer's blood from the kitchen floor and the DNA from his toothbrush along with the report from the doctor you contacted for his records. They are a match, so he was shot in the kitchen where he bled out and then was somehow moved, but not to the garage. The blood trail you found ends at the garage door in the house. The amount of blood we found meant the guy was close to death if not already, but after the trail we have nothing on him in the rest of the house." The CSI paused as if he was turning pages in a folder. "I have all the photos from the scene and it looks like the guy just disappeared. We have nothing on how they got him out of the house, but I can tell you this, there were at least three intruders in that house."

"Three? You're sure?"

"Yep. Two sets of shoe treads were found in the kitchen around the blood, just from the tread on the soft stone floor leaving impressions, the shoes had to be new to leave a slight impression and not very special; just you're average workboots. But the third set was found in the blood trail. It was hard to define them at first, but after running all the photos through the computer, they showed up. The prints are from an older pair of boots, military issue combat boots. If I didn't know better I'd think the first two men were professionals and knew to wear the most common pair of boots out there, but the third, I just get the feeling he's not as smart. Military boots are not common and I can run them; I'll at least get an idea which branch uses this type of boot the most. They are also kind of small prints for military boots, size eight. The guy's kind of small or it's possible he's a she. That may help also. I'll let you know as soon as I get something on those."

"Yeah, do that. And let me know if you find anything else." The detective replaced the phone on his desk in its cradle as he thought about these new facts. Military boots meant military and he knew Spencer had ties to the military.

It was beginning to look like Eliot's past had caught up with him and he wasn't sure he'd be able to help him now. He reached for his cell phone in his pocket as he realized that maybe it was time Ford filled him in on just exactly what kind of man Eliot Spencer was.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

_No One Knows What It's Like_

_To Be The Bad Man_

_To Be The Sad Man_

_Behind Blue Eyes_

_(The End of this Song)_

Roughly about 4:45 PM

"You left me with a friggin' lemon wedge? How would that have saved my life if I would have needed a weapon? Was I supposed to throw it at him?" Eliot winced as he realized just how whinny he sounded just then, but the woman had gone and left him with nothing but a piece of fruit for cryin' out loud. How in the world was he supposed to use that against Evan if he'd needed to fight?

Katharine tried hard to hide the smile she felt coming on at his sudden outburst directed towards her as soon as she walked into his room after she'd waited for Evan Chapman to leave. She had barely had time to reach for Eliot's chart to start writing down his current readings, when he'd started in on her.

"It was all I had on me at the time. I love the smell of lemons and I took it from my tea at lunch." She smiled at him trying very hard to contain her laughter at the look on his face. "Besides, do you know how dangerous lemon juice can be? If you had gotten him in the eye, it would have burned like a bitch." She said as she lost the battle to control her laughter. He was looking at her and he looked like a little boy; a mad little boy and she was willing to stake her life on the fact he'd never looked that way at anyone before. Ever. "Although you would be doing good just to move your arms seeing as how the chest muscles are connected to the arm muscles and you have four holes in your chest right now, 2 bullet wounds and 2 chest tube lines. So I'd be surprised if you good even wave bye-bye right now."

Eliot looked at the woman standing over him trying so hard to control herself, and he could not see how she found this funny. Women, he growled. But he did remember he had taken down the Butcher of Kiev with a little lemon juice. That had been a good takedown, too, he thought. "That's not funny, woman. I can show you a wave I can accomplish with very little effort."

She laughed outright then at the childish anger he was gaving off. "You're so cute when you're angry." She managed to get out between bouts of laughter. After that he just seemed to get red in the face.

Eliot looked at her as if she'd just grown another head. What in the world was he thinking asking her for help? This woman was crazy. Then he smiled inwardly as he realized that he probably sounded like a spoiled child. Okay so maybe he was upset, but what did she expect? He'd been shot for God's sake. What was he getting himself into here?

"I am not cute. That… would be… ridiculous." He managed to get out before he became short of breath.

Katharine immediately dropped his chart on the bedside table and reached for the oxygen mask resting above his head and attached it over his nose and mouth. She should have realized he'd over do things. He should be getting oxygen all the time. His lung was still not working properly to get air in and out. She reached up to brush his hair from his face as she made sure the mask was settled properly.

Eliot could do nothing but watch her as she placed the mask on his face. He quickly tried to breath deeply of the sweet pure air, but his lungs didn't work at full capacity yet. He managed to weakly lift his right arm and press it over his chest to help his breathing, but all he managed to do was cause himself more pain as he came into contact with the chest wounds.

Katharine reached over on the bed frame and pushed a button that slowly raised his bed so that he was almost sitting and that helped his breathing even out more. Then she pulled a syringe from her pocket of her uniform top and she reached for the catheter in the IV of his left arm. Eliot watched her with a darkening look crossing over his eyes. She noticed the look and hesitated for a just a moment.

"It's morphine; for the pain." She explained at the look. Did he think she would hurt him? After telling him she'd help him? She would never hurt him, surely he understood that. But then again, she was forced to remember she really didn't know him or what he'd just been through.

"How much?" He rasped behind the mask. His eyes never leaving the syringe in her hand as she hovered over the IV.

"What?"

Eliot swallowed at the dryness in his throat. "How. Much." He repeated slowly as if she were having trouble understanding english.

Katharine just looked at him. "If you mean the dosage, it's a double dose. Usually in the hospital, you'd be on a PCA, patient-controlled Analgesia, but we don't have that here. So you're on pain meds every half hour by injection. It's to help you to rest so you can heal. You do know you have to heal."

"I can't…" He paused to try and lick at his dry lips under the mask. "I can't be drugged up and sleeping. I need to be alert… so I can handle this situation." Eliot slowly moved his eyes from the syringe to her. He looked at her with such deep intensity. He needed her to understand that he had to stay alert to all possible dangers.

"This situation?" She asked him as she slowly moved closer to his arm in hopes of catching him off guard so she could slip the medication in his IV. "What situation is that exactly?"

"I can't be vulnerable right now. I have…I have to be… in control." Eliot remembered Evan's words from earlier. He couldn't let his guard down with that man coming after him. Evan had told him of some of his plans just to let Eliot know what was coming. What they had planned for him. And Eliot knew that now more than ever he had to know when it was coming and he also had to protect Katharine somehow without her knowing what could happen to her. She was in danger now that Evan had seen how close she'd been to Eliot when he'd walked in and that was not good.

Suddenly he snapped out his left hand and grabbed her left wrist as she was just about to inject the medication. The movement was so quick it took Katharine by surprise and she couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her. She looked from his long fingers wrapped around her wrist to his eyes. He hadn't moved anything except his hand and he'd been quick. Too quick for someone in his condition.

"No." He said simply o her.

At first Katharine felt panicked at this quick reaction, but as she took in the glazed look of pain in his eyes, she knew he wasn't meaning to hurt her. Whatever had happened here, he was just trying to keep some control over his body. She relaxed under his touch and smiled at him.

"All right. No pain med, for now. But you need something. You can't possibly survive the pain. There is a limit to everyone's pain threshold. And believe me when I say, I think you need something."

Eliot just continued to stare at the woman. He hoped the stare that he reserved for Hardison when he pissed him off would work on Katharine, but other than the surprise of his quick movement, she didn't seem to be flustered one bit. He narrowed his eyes at her hoping to convey a more sinister side to him. He needed her to fear him, at least a little so that he could get her out of this. After his talk with Evan, Eliot knew he needed to protect her from him.

"That won't work. I have…had two brothers. Growing up with them was a lesson in how to read a man's bullshit meter. And you Eliot Spencer cannot bullshit me. You are in pain and while I know you can be a formidable force when healthy, you are not going to scare me while you are laying in that bed." She pulled the syringe from her left hand and used her right to prepare to inject it as Eliot watched her.

Eliot couldn't let her drug him. He knew what was at stake here, and she didn't. "Look," he tried again, this time he softened his eyes as he spoke through the mask. "I need to be alert. I can't explain right now. I just…I just can't let you drug me. It's important for me to stay awake. Please…" He finished with a weak smile. The best he could come up with considering the stupid mask that covered his face was in his way. He even let the smile reach his eyes.

Katharine blinked. Then she blinked again. "Wow," She breathed softly. "I bet that took every ounce of strength you had. To beg and bat those baby blues at me. And while I am absolutely positive that you have had great success with that smile and eye combo, that won't work either. But I must compliment you on the fact you went from fierce pitbull to puppy dog face in the blink of an eye." She pulled at her still captive wrist and felt his grip tighten in reaction before he reluctantly let her go. "I'm not going to give you the full double dose, but I am giving you enough to take the edge off."

It was Eliot's turn to blink, because even though she'd said it wouldn't work, it had. She was lessening the dose. A sort of compromise. He looked at her as he felt the drug start working almost instantly. She was right, it was enough to take the edge off, but it was also enough for his vision to get fuzzy again and he felt slightly nauseous. He laid his head back against the pillows as she moved to recap the syringe and replace in her pocket.

He slowly reached up with an arm made of lead and removed the mask. He had to warn her to be careful. He needed to tell her to watch herself, but keeping his eyes open was becoming a contest of wills and he was losing. Damn it, the drug wasn't just taking the edge off. He realized too late that she had given him the full double dose after all.

"Kath…I need…I need you to be careful of…Evan." He tried to warn her. "I need… you to …"

Katharine turned from making a note in his chart to look at him. "What do you mean?"

Eliot blinked up at her. What was he saying again? Oh, yeah Evan. "Evan knows something or…he's…guessed something. He…he's watching you so… please don't do anything…"

Evan Chapman was watching her? Damn it, did he already know she'd called Quinn? She took a deep breath, what was she supposed to do now? "I'll be careful Eliot. Don't worry about me. Just rest now and we'll talk in a few hours." She patted his hand as he finally closed his eyes.

If Evan Chapman was watching her, then she didn't know how much time she'd have. She couldn't call Quinn again, he'd said he'd call her when he was heading her way. She couldn't call anyone else either. Not until she knew when and how she was getting Eliot out of here. So she'd just have to be sure she was ready at a moment's notice. She was raised by a father in the Army so she'd been raised to break camp in a second. She walked over to a dresser in the corner and picked up the medical bag Dr. Richards had brought in that morning with the extra medications and supplies for Eliot.

She carefully took stock of what was in the bag then added more bandages and other accessories from the drawers. Soon she had the bag packed and hidden in the closet behind some other equipment. She laid the other medications she'd need later on top of the dress as if in preparation for Eliot's next dosage and bandage checks so the Dr. wouldn't need to search for the bag. She checked the pluerovac attached to the chest tubes in Eliot and saw his numbers were still too high for it to be removed this soon. The best she could hope for would be in the morning. He'd be on it for a full 24 hours around the time she'd be ready to get off duty, so maybe the doctor would be able to remove at least the air vac tube.

But the tube that was draining his blood was another story. He wasn't getting off that one anytime soon. She'd have to see if Quinn could find a portable pleurovac before he came for them; something for just until they could get him to a hospital. She knew she was kidding herself if she thought she was going to be able to get him out of here on his two feet, but she knew they couldn't stay here. Not now. Not if Evan was becoming suspicious of her.

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Roughly about 5:00 PM

Sophie Deveraux had spent the majority of her life not depending on anyone. Then she came across Nathan Ford. They were adversaries at one time, but she'd always felt a strong connection to the man. He'd been married then, but she knew someday she'd see him again.

Then he'd recruited her for that first job and everything that she had once known about the man changed. Suddenly she was a part of something she'd never expected to be a part of; a family. She had a family here with this team. And she'd never expected to ever feel something like the love she felt for them. She cared for all of them, especially Nate. But she depended on Eliot. That man was like a younger brother for her and she'd come to realize they all depended on him to protect them. They'd even begun to take it for granted that he'd always be there when they needed him.

Now it was Eliot who needed them. And she didn't know if they'd be able to come through for him. But she knew that Nate would never give up trying to help him, because that's what he did. He was their leader, their mastermind and she knew deep in her heart that if Nate had to pull in outside help to find Eliot he'd do it. And he had.

She sat quietly on the sofa in Nate's loft as he paced back and forth alternating in conversations with his contact on the phone who would soon be there and with Hardison who was monitoring his computers. He hadn't filled them in on who this mysterious contact was, but they'd soon find out.

She held the letter from Eliot and she couldn't help feeling it, turning it over and over in her hands as she debated reading it. A part of her wanted nothing more than to see what the man could have possibly written just for her and a part of her felt like she needed to wait and let the man himself tell her. She knew Hardison had gone off quietly to read his, but Parker had returned hers to Nate and it still lay on the coffee table in plain sight with her name written across the front.

She wasn't surprised at the nice neat handwriting Eliot had. Out of all of them, Eliot had the best handwriting. She always thought that for such a fierce man, a man who lived moment to moment, that it was oddly comforting that he took the time to make his writing as legible as he did. It was a strong script, yet it showed that he had a deeper core than anyone could guess. She'd studied handwriting as a part of grifting because a person's handwriting told so much about that person, and Eliot's writing told her there was a very deep core hidden inside him. He had a lot of emotions and not just the angry ones. His writing told her he was a well-rounded man who had a handle on many things. Eliot was multi-faceted and she couldn't help thinking of him as a diamond. A diamond in the rough.

She sighed as she decided her curiousity was going to get the best of her so she gently ripped the envelope and pulled out the two pages inside.

_Dear Soph-_

_What can I say to the one person who probably knows the most about me? Don't try and deny it, darlin'. I can always see it in your eyes when you're watching someone and then you suddenly get them figured out. You, my dear have a tell. Grifter or not, when you have figured out exactly how to work a mark, you have a tell. It's in your eyes. You can never completely hide what's in them from someoneone who knows what to look for._

_Don't worry, your marks haven't even guessed. They only see what you let them. But I know how to see past what the mark sees. I know you can see through me just as easily. I've tried to keep my past hidden, but there are things that just can't be erased from the eyes, isn't there?_

_I think you and I have probably had the most similarities in our lives. I may have had a family once, but I've known what it's like to be alone and only being able to depend on myself. Just as you have had to yourself. We both know the difference between just working people and then having to work people._

_That's why I'm gonna ask you to do something for me that I know only you can. I need you to watch over Nate. I know he can be difficult at times, but he really needs you. And in a way, I think you need him too. He is a good man, even if he is damn annoying with the way his plans go._

_His heart is in the right place though; even if he doesn't know it. He loves this team, but sometimes the job or con takes him over and he gets carried away. I've tried to keep him reined in when I can, just as I know you have. That's why I think he's gonna need you more than ever after this is all over. If I don't come back, take care of him and keep the team going the best you can. Don't let him drink too much and remind him that whatever he thinks he's chasin' in that bottle isn't gonna ever be as good as what's standing right in front of him._

_I'm gonna close now, cause this is more words than I intended to write. Just know that even though I may have been a bear, I really did care for this team. I lost most of my own family because of the choices I made and I was prepared to remain alone for whatever remainder of my life God granted me, so I count myself lucky that He saw fit to give me this team for the short time He did._

_So take care of them, they need you. Especially Parker. Keep telling her that Eliot would say there's something wrong with her, but that it's okay. And take care of yourself Sophie. Buy those boots I owe you and remember I'm watchin' from wherever I'll be._

_Eliot_


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

_Another Year Has Passed Me By_

_Still I Look At Myself And Cry_

_What Kind Of Man Have I Become?_

_-Man In The Wilderness-_

_-Styx-_

Roughly about 5:15 PM

_Nate,_

_Out of all these letters, I think this one will be the hardest. You know things about me that no one else does, not even my sister. I've slowly trusted you with some things, but others are harder. For the purpose of this letter, your knowing what you already do about me makes this a little easier._

_I once had a father that was the best any kid could have, but when we lost my mother in that car accident I lost him too. I know that you must think that time I wanted to help Randy that maybe I was also a victim of child abuse. I never let you know whether that was true or not, but now let me tell you the truth._

_My father never physically abused me or my brother or my sisters. That being said, you also need to know that when my mother, brother and baby sister died, my father stopped living for me and Emma and himself. I know that is in a way a form of abuse in itself, but I know in my heart he never meant to hurt us in any way. He just didn't know how to go on without our mom._

_I had grown to hate him during those years between losing them and leaving home. I know he had his own demons to struggle with, but he was so wrapped up in what he lost that he forgot what he still had. That's why I made a lot of decisions that I knew would disappoint him and for that, I will always be sorry. I wish I could go back and make things right, but I know that's most likely never gonna happen._

_I'm not gonna go through all the crap about who I was in the past 'cause that's not gonna mean a damn thing. The only thing that matters is who I am now, and I feel that's because of you. And this team._

_I know you didn't chose us for your team, but you are the one who chose to_ keep _us as a team and for that I need you to know that I will always be grateful. I don't like to discuss feelings and crap, but I need you to know that being a part of this team gave me something I hadn't had in a really long time. A real family. And I respect you for that._

_I'm not saying you would ever replace my father, because you couldn't. What I am saying is that there are only four men in this world that I would die for. One sits in my childhood home back in Oklahoma hating me; one I hope to be able to pull out of the prisons of San Lorenzo when we get there; one drives me crazy with his Dr. Who and Star Trek crap; and the other is hopefully not having to read this letter right now._

_Nate, I need you to understand that when I didn't tell about Moreau, it wasn't because I wanted to protect him. I was protecting this team, but most of all I was trying to protect you. You are out of your league and you tend to push things. It's as simple as that. I know that going after him now is most likely a death sentence for me if he finds out, but I'm more worried about what he will do to this team…and you. I'm telling you this now in case I don't finish this. You need to know that if everything goes to hell you need to get the team out of there as fast as you can. Because believe me when I say this, if things go sideways, I know what the man can do and the last thing I want is to see any of you guys dead. I need to know you will be all right after...well, just after..._

_That's why I'm prepared to take the front line on this. I'm not playing the hero; it's just what needs to be done. If things go wrong, I need to take the hit because you and the team do not need to be on his radar. It's just what has to be._

_I do not plan on letting you or the team go down because of something I should have never let happen in the first place. I know it's because of me that we even made it across the Italian's radar. She made me as a connection to him, so she's using us to get to him. It's something I would do. And because of my connection to him, it's only smart that I take the hits. I'm the hitter, that's what I do. Protect my team; and I need you to know if I go down it won't be for nothing. I need you to get back home safe._

_But when you and the team get back, stay together because you all need each other. Especially Parker. Be sure and watch out for that girl. She may be twenty pounds of crazy, but she's our twenty pounds of crazy. And I wouldn't change her for the world._

_And if there's any good that can come from my death, let it be one thing. Just one thing, Nate; for me, watch the drinking. I won't be there to push you away from that bottle, and you know only Soph and I can do it. She can't do it alone now, so help her out some. I'm not asking you to stop cold turkey, cause that ain't happenin'. All I'm asking is you push it away when it becomes the answer for everything your feeling. One is one, but two is too many and you have a family that depends on you. Don't let my death be just another reason to disappear inside a bottle; that's not fair to me or you._

_To be honest with you, it hasn't been fair to your son for you to do that either. Do you really think Sam would want to know that a drink is how you handle his memories? I think your son deserves to remembered without being drunk when you do it. If you think I'm overstepping saying this, then feel free to kick my ass, but I'm not taking it back._

_I know Sam deserves better from you than that and frankly, I do too. Just remember Nate, Sam is watching and so will I. And the next time I think you're going too far, I'll be there. And don't be surprised if I can still kick your ass from the beyond._

_Eliot_

Nate Ford slowly let the letter fall from his fingers to rest on the dining room table where he sat with a bottle and an empty glass in front of him. He looked at the bottle and then back down to the last page of the letter he'd just read.

Damn it Eliot! He thought, as he couldn't help the small smile the words brought forth. He never thought the man would be so good at reaching people without being there in person to growl at them. And that's exactly what his letter had done; he'd reached Nate, deeper than anyone had before. Even more than Sophie, to be honest. And the things he'd brought up about Sam, just damn it all.

Sure he was mad at the mention of Sam, but he knew it was because Eliot was right. Sam did deserve better. But he didn't know how he could do better when all of this was happening right now. He sighed thinking maybe it had been a bad idea to read this letter right now, but he knew if he hadn't done it now he wouldn't have the courage to do it later.

Right now he really thought he needed that drink, but something was nagging at him and he knew it was Sam and Eliot. Eliot didn't realize it, but he was now working with his son's memory to get to him. He stared at that letter for what felt like an eternity before a well manicured hand reached for the letter and gently pulled it away, folding it and putting back in the enevelope.

Sophie put the envelope inside the jacket pocket of his suit coat that hung on the back of his chair and quietly sat down in the empty seat next to him. She reached for the bottle and the glass and poured a single finger of the Irish whiskey and handed him the glass.

"That is a gift from Eliot. Just one, then we go find him and bring him home."

Nate smiled a thank you as he took the glass and looked at her. "Yes." He turned to take in Hardison sitting at his computer typing furiously and at Parker hanging upside down from the upstairs banister staring at all of them, yet not really seeeing them. "One; then we go steal our Eliot back." He reached for her hand and downed the drink.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_Somewhere in Eliot's past (again)_

_"_ _Emma?" Eliot's voice was just a whisper, as he silently walked into the kitchen where his sister was still doing the dishes._

_Emma Spencer turned to see her brother standing in the doorway with the darkness outside framing him. He looked troubled. She wrinkled her forehead at him. She should be mad at him for making her do every dish in the house, yet there was something in the way he was looking at her. She pulled her hands from the dishwater and grabbed a dishtowel drying her hands as she turned to face her brother._

_"_ _What's wrong El?"_

_Eliot didn't know how he should say this. Maybe he'd heard wrong. Maybe he hadn't just heard his mother say what she'd just said as he silently listened outside the dining room window. Maybe…_

_"_ _Eliot? What it is?" Emma's voice took on a worried note. "Is it Jasper? Did he get out of his stall again?" She walked over to him reaching out to touch his arm._

_Eliot realized that whatever he'd just heard, he didn't need to say anything to Emma right now. He needed to talk to his parents first. His first thought had been to run to her 'cause he always shared things with his sister; his twin. But this time things were different. Whatever he'd heard… well it didn't really affect Emma anyway, at least not as much as it would affect him. He drew himself up and tried to wipe the worried look from his features._

_"_ _No. Just wanted to see if you'd come running… and you did!" He joked. He'd pulled the emotional card on Emma before when she'd been mad at him, and it always worked. She wouldn't think anything of it. At least not right away._

 _"_ _Oh you! You are just so mean!" She threw the dish towel at him as she laughed and went back to the sink. "Just for that, I'm tellin' dad that you actually tried drivin' his truck the other day when he was at the doctor's with mamma!" She threw back over her shoulder. But she was smiling._

 _"_ _Yeah sure you will! How are you gonna explain you know about it without telling him you were with me?" He laughed back at her as he threw the dishtowel back and watched it land directly on her head. He quickly used the time it took her to dry her hands again and turn around to get the heck out of the kitchen and run for the safety of his room._

_Once there he slowly pulled off his sneakers as he sat at on his bed. He was thinking. Maybe he hadn't heard his mom and dad discussing Evan and Eaton as if they were their own children with his aunt and uncle. Maybe he'd heard wrong. But as he heaved a deep sigh, Eliot Spencer knew he hadn't._

_He knew he'd heard correctly when he'd heard his mother say they'd given the twins to them to raise because she'd been too young to raise them. And he knew he couldn't change the fact that Evan and Eaton were not his step cousins. It made sense really. The pictures his mom had of the two when they were Eliot's age looked enough like Eliot to prove they were indeed his brothers._

_He didn't know how, but he knew he needed to know for sure. He'd have to talk to him mom sometime soon. He needed to know what secrets she was keeping from all of them, but most of all he needed to know if Evan and Eaton were really his brothers, would he be like them. One good, one bad. Which one would Eliot Spencer end up being like?_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 5:30 PM

Liam Chapman watched as the two men in dark clothes came into the office he was using in the warehouse. They were the best money could buy and they'd do their jobs without asking questions. That's what he liked about both men. He could trust them to do whatever was needed as long as they got paid.

"Listen Evan, things aren't going as quickly as we'd like right now. Seems Ford as called in a former friend of yours to help him find Eliot. I told you Ford wouldn't believe the faked scene at Eliot's house. He may have at first, but once things started falling into place he'd question things. And it seems I was right." The man listened to Evan Chapman's response though his cell phone.

"I didn't expect him to believe it. I just needed to buy some time. And trust me when they start looking they'll be looking for Evan Spencer, AKA Evan Chapman, but they won't know where to look. That's why you were staking out the bar this morning. To see just how long it was before the whole team knew Eliot was gone. I know my job Liam, and you know I want payback for what happened to me just like you want for your brother Sean." Evan Chapman paced the office he was in at his home. He had to make sure Liam kept everyone on schedule here. Time was important.

As he talked with the other man, Sean's brother Liam, he continued to monitor the screen of his computer on his desk that showed everything that was going on inside Eliot's room right now. He didn't think anything of the nurse packing up the supplies until he saw her put the bag in the closet. That wouldn't have bothered him either if she'd just set the bag on the floor, but she took the time to hide the bag behind some medical equipment kept there. There was only one reason to hide a bag full of medical supplies.

This nurse, Katharine Wakefield was going to be a problem he'd have to handle and soon. He couldn't let her ruin what had been five years in the making. He wasn't going to let anyone interfere with his plans.

"Yes, exactly. Payback. I want Eliot Spencer to pay for killing my brother in that warehouse along with all the others, but I'm not sure you planned for who Ford has brought in to help him." Liam smiled as he thought about how this would really piss Evan off. The two men in front of him had done their job well in bringing him this news. "Seems he's found Whitmore. You remember him, don't you? Turns out Matthew Whitmore married Spencer's sister. He's family. You never knew that, did you, Evan?"

Evan stopped pacing as he took that it. No he hadn't known that, but then again he'd been thrown away like garbage when the government had gotten what they'd wanted from him. And he hadn't been on their contact list for the newsletter. If it hadn't been for the man he was talking too right now… well he would have been dead right now. For real. He'd used Sean's family to help him hide, and now he needed their help again to get justice for himself and is friend Sean.

"No, I didn't Liam. Look it doesn't matter, that just means I won't have to search out everyone I want to kill. If Whitmore is here, then I can take him down along with Spencer. Just make sure everything's ready for the day after tomorrow and I'll have Eliot there. Then we can both have a shot at him." Evan sighed as he watched the nurse move through the rest of the room doing what he was sure was probably normal as far as caring for Eliot. Nothing else seemed to be out of place. "I've got to handle something that has come up here. But don't worry I'll have Eliot at the warehouse on time and I won't be leaving any witnesses here when I'm done with this place."

As he hung up with Liam, he sat down at his desk and continued to watch the nurse. She was very pretty. It was a shame he'd never get to _know_ her. There just wasn't enough time for him to enjoy himself right now. He smiled somewhat sadly at that thought. A pity really, she was quit nice to look at.

No, right now he needed to find the doctor and make sure everything was going according to plan as far as keeping Eliot alive; for now. This nurse was just a little glitch and he'd take care of her soon enough. She wasn't going anywhere and for now he needed her to help keep Eliot alive. He'd let her continue thinking she was going to be the hero and save Eliot Spencer and then when the time was right, he'd take care of her.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

_All of the years I've spent in search of myself_

_And I'm Still In The Dark_

_'_ _Cause I Can't Seem To Find The Light Alone_

Travis Quinn stood outside on the balcony of his room in the modest hotel where he was staying in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. He'd just spoken with his contact that would get him on a plane and headed for the states by noon. He'd had to call in a lot of favors and make some of his own to get a straight passage to Boston.

He'd have to head out in a couple more hours so he could get to the airfield without being detected, but until then he had time to call the one person he knew would have the info he needed on Spencer. The man wasn't exactly a friend, to say the least, but he would tell him what he wanted to know. And right now that was more important.

He knew he'd do this for Kat, he always did whatever Kat asked of him, but a small part of him was also doing this for Spencer too. The man was very good at what he did, and he'd never heard of Eliot Spencer ever owing someone a favor. If he did this for Kat, for Eliot, then maybe just maybe he'd have Eliot owing him for a change and not the other way around.

He sighed as he reached once again for his cell phone and punched in the number he'd remembered from a not so distant past. He'd needed this man's help once before and now he'd be needing it again, except it wouldn't be for himself; it'd be for Eliot Spencer. The man didn't have anything nice to say about Quinn, but he was always ready to help Eliot whenever he needed help. And Quinn suspected the man would know exactly who was behind this and how to help him to help Eliot.

"Yeah?" Came the caustic reply as Quinn remembered the man behind the voice.

"I just have once question, Colonel." He stated as he took in the starry sky overhead.

"Yeah? And what might that be, Quinn?"

"Who took Eliot Spencer and how can you help me save him?"

The man on the other end chuckled. "That's two questions and what makes you think I know where the man is?"

"Because, Colonel, you are the closest thing he's ever had to family and you'd know what's going on. The great Colonel Michael Vance would never miss not knowing what was going on in Eliot Spencer's life."

There was a long pause before the man on the other end replied. "And if I did know what was going on with Spencer why would you want to help get him back?"

"Because he's with a friend of mine and I don't want her dragged into whatever is going on here."

"Her? Does your friend have a name?" Vance asked taking in the tone of voice Quinn had used when he'd mentioned her. She was important to him.

"Katharine Wakefield. Or maybe you'll remember her full name…Katharine Malone Wakefield."

Again there was a long pause before the man replied. "I'm guessing Malone as in Lucas Malone?"

"Yes and she's more important to me than you could possibly know. She's the closest thing I have to family and she's trying to protect Spencer. You know how it goes with him, women fall down for him. She's not that type, but she definitely knows he's in trouble and wants to protect him. Seems he was near death and is still in dire need of medical help."

"As I recall Katharine is a nurse; so she's keeping him alive?"

"Yes. I'm on my way to Boston shortly, and I need to know what's going on and how to get them out of danger. So I'm asking for information and some help with this." Quinn hated needing help from anyone, especially the military, but for Kat he'd bow down and do what was necessary to protect her and by extension Spencer.

"I'm already in Boston heading out to speak with his team. Nate Ford contacted Whitmore who contacted me. How soon can you be here?"

"Tomorrow by midnight. I'm not in the states right now and I'm…tying up some lose ends before I can get there." He hated being so far away, but it couldn't be helped.

"Okay. Well tell me what you know and I'll tell you what I know and we'll come up with a plan."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was exactly 5:40 pm when Nate Ford opened the door to his loft and found Detective Bonanno standing on his doorstep.

"Hello detective. You come up with anything new?" Nate asked as he stepped back to allow the detective to enter the room.

Bonanno noted that Hardison was at his usual spot working on several computers at once and Sophie Devereaux and the girl they called Parker were seated on the sofa. He noted that everyone with the exception of Parker seemed to be okay with his arrival. Parker seemed to be annoyed he was there. Like he was their enemy. He smiled to himself because he probably was their enemy of sorts considering what he knew about their previous profiles as well as what they were doing nowadays.

"Yeah, but what I'm about to say does not leave this room." Bonanno replied as he walked over to sit at the dining table with Nate following. Sophie got up from the sofa and headed over to sit down next to Nate.

"You have my word, Patrick." Nate said as he took in the other man and his disposition.

Sophie looked at the detective as she tried to read him. He was hard to read though, the man was very good at keeping his face as neutral as possible, but she could sense he had something important to tell them.

Bonanno took a deep breath and spoke. "It seems the remains are not Eliot's as I stated before and whoever he was, he was related to Eliot. What's new is that we now know the person was already dead at least 24-48 hours before being blown up. And we know that he was male and in his seventies at least." He paused before continuing. "I also know that there were three intruders. Two men for sure and the third was either a small man or a woman."

"A woman? Are you sure, detective?" Sophie seemed surprised that a woman would be able to get the drop on Eliot. But then again she was surprised anyone had been able to get the drop on him.

"Well, we're going off shoe prints and the third person is a lot smaller than the first two. My CSI guy thinks the prints belong to military boots and is working on trying to isolate a particular brand which could give us the particular branch of military they are most associated with."

Nate thought about that. Military made sense based on Eliot's spotty history. He knew Eliot started out in the military. "So when will you know for sure?"

"Anytime. I've told David to call me the minute he gets anything. But what I'm the most confused with is the fact that the remains were from such an older individual and related to Eliot. I spoke to his sister and she says her father is very much alive and he's nowhere near the age placed on this person. So that's a major puzzle hitting right in the middle of all this other crap going on."

"I know that's right." Hardison said from his seat across the room.

Bonanno looked confusedly at Hardison then turned to face Nate. "How does he do that? He's got the ears of a bat or something."

Nate smiled as he reached up and pulled his earbud from his ear and laid it on the table. "Something like that."

Bonanno looked at the device. "Is that…is that an earbud? The guy heard every word we said?"

"The guy can _still_ hear every word you're saying'." Hardison said turning to smile at the detective.

"Okay." Bonanno said as he took that in. Then a thought hit him. "You wear these all the time? All of you?"

Nate knew what he was getting at. "Most of the time, but before you ask, Eliot wasn't wearing his. He must have taken it out. Hardison keeps records of when we're wearing them and when we're not. Eliot's wasn't transmitting."

"Damn." The detective said. "Wait a minute. No earbud was found at the crime scene. I'd know if there was. So where is his earbud?"

Nate looked at Hardison as the man returned his look. They both responded with "Damn!"

"Hardison-"

"I know – I'm on it." The man spun back around and began to furiously pound at his keyboard for a few minutes.

"What? What is it?" Bonanno watched as the guy seemed to be in another world.

"It's possible that even if Eliot wasn't wearing his earbud, he may have had it on his person. And Hardison has GPS trackers on all of us through our earbuds. It's possible it might be working if whoever took Eliot didn't know he was carrying it."

Everyone in the room turned to watch as Hardison worked. Finally they heard him give a resounding "Whoop!" as something flashed over the monitors in front of the sofa.

Parker got up and walked over to the lines that showed each of them in the room with green lines which indicated they were all wearing their earbuds. Eliot's line was red. Then another monitor flashed with a city map and there was an annoying red light blinking on the screen.

"Where is he Hardison?" She asked as she turned to him.

Hardison had been so excited when he'd first seen the signal coming from Eliot's earbud, then he felt his excitement abate. "City dump. Either Eliot is being held at the city dump or his earbud hitched a ride there."

The disappointment in his voice was so strong that all of them in the room knew. This was another dead end.

"Damnit Hardison!" Nate said as he got up and moved over to stand near Parker.

"I know. I tried to find him via his earbud as soon as you told me too, but at that time it was off, so I just assumed it'd been left at his house. I should have checked it again. Damn it, I should have checked it again."

Bonanno got up and walked over to the map as he took in the blinking light. "Okay, so the earbud was turned off then, but why has it been turned on now just to show you it's at the city dump? Why turn it on at all?" The detective turned to look at Hardison. "Why do that? Why not just leave it off so you could assume it was left behind."

"What are you getting at detective?" Sophie asked as she too walked over to the group.

"I'm saying that it's possible someone is wanting to either mislead you or possibly help you. Someone who knows about the earbuds. And I'm saying that there's a warehouse district not to far from the dump. Is it possible to scramble the signal a little to mislead you? And if so why?"

Nate looked between the map and the detective. "Someone knows about Eliot's team and they want us to follow this signal. There's no reason to turn on the earbud unless the person wants us to track it. Either they want us to walk into a trap or they want to help us out here."

"Exactly."

"Hardison can you figure out if the signal is being scrambled?"

The young hacker grinned. "Can Elvis sing?" He smiled as he turned his back a moment to pick up a laptop from a bag under his worktable. As he set it up next to his main keyboard, he added, "I can do anything, man. All I need to do is run a program to eliminate the rhythms of the current frequency and thin out the signal. This should give me an exact location of the earbud, but it'll take a couple hours to run."

"Get on it." Nate said with a grin as the first real sign of hope crossed their path. "Just work your magic."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly 6:00 PM

As Matthew Whitmore listened to the one-sided conversation between Vance and who he now knew to be Travis Quinn, he steered the SUV he was driving into the alley behind McRory's Bar. He pulled up to a stop next to a standard blue Crown Victoria cop car.

He didn't think anything of the car, even if it was a cop, they didn't know what was going on here with Spencer and there was no way they'd be able to help out much. He turned off the ignition and pocketed the keys as Vance ended the call.

"Well?" He asked.

"Eliot's alive, but barely. We have someone on the inside and it is Evan who has him. Quinn didn't have much in details, but he's heading here and should be here sometime tomorrow night. The insider is a woman and an old friend. She's Malone's sister." He said as he reached for the door handle and opened his door. "She doesn't know who Eliot is or who Evan is, but she's a nurse and she was hired along with a doctor to help keep Eliot alive."

Lucas Malone's sister and Eliot Spencer… together…that couldn't end well. "Is he in contact with her right now?"

"Yeah. But he's outside the states, and he won't tell me anything else until he gets here. Seems he doesn't trust us to go in and rescue them without causing any problems."

Matthew smirked at that. "Of course he doesn't." He paused as he reached in the back seat for the duffle he needed. "Can we trust her? I seem to remember the woman as being...very uncooperative when she'd been informed of her brother's death." That was an understatement, he thought with a slight laugh.

Vance thought back to that day. Mission gone bad, she'd been told. She hadn't bought that then and he knew she wouldn't buy it today. And she'd been right. Vance had wished he could have told her the truth, but things were..complicated. The military was always complicated. But one thing for sure, this woman as well as Quinn couldn't be allowed to find out the truth of who actually killed Lucas Malone. If they did, they could jeopardize this whole rescue. If they knew just how close they were to the person who'd killed Lucas Malone, they'd ruin everything. Because one thing Vance knew for sure was if Evan was holding Eliot, then the person who killed Lucas Malone was with him.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

_Sometimes I Feel Like A Man In The Wilderness_

_I'm A Lonely Soldier off To War_

_Sent Away To Die, Never Quite Knowing why_

_Sometimes It Makes No Sense At All…_

_Makes No Sense At All…_

Roughly about 6:00 PM

Parker swiftly eased herself onto the bar's rooftop. She'd used her gear to move quietly from the loft as the others watched Hardison working to track Eliot's earbud. She knew Hardison would find something, but she also knew it would be a while and she needed time to herself. She always enjoyed coming up to the roof whenever she needed room to breathe or just to think.

Eliot knew she spent a lot of her time up here even if she was supposed to be in her own apartment. He understood her need for wide open spaces where she didn't have to listen to people. She loved being a part of this team, but it was still hard for her to be in a room full of people. Especially when they were all just as worried as herself over finding Eliot.

She missed him. She truly loved each of them, especially Hardison, but she missed Eliot the most. He helped ground her. She knew she could ask him anything and he'd tell her the truth. He'd never lie to her. Eliot always explained things to her in a way she could understand and he never looked at her like she was crazy. She knew everyone thought she was a little crazy, but hell who wouldn't be after the life she'd lived.

If she hadn't been taken in by Archie, she'd probably be in jail right now. He taught her how to be good at what she did and she loved moving among people and not being seen. She had gotten so used to that, that it was hard sometimes to try and be a normal part of something.

But with Eliot she could tell him how she felt. Yeah he always told her something was wrong with her, but he'd also told her that it was okay to have something wrong with her if it made her _her._ And while she'd tried hard to do a lot of things others did, she still needed to have her own space. So here she was taking time to breathe.

She reached into the pocket of her jacket for the envelope she'd snaked from the coffee table while the others where busy with their electronic tracking and waiting for the friends of Eliot's to come help. She'd meant it when she said she didn't want to read her letter from Eliot because to her he wasn't dead. They'd find him and she knew he might be a little upset if he knew they'd read those letters to all of them.

But she also couldn't help wondering what he had to tell her that she didn't already know. She was planning on sneaking the letter back on the coffee table when she went back before anyone took notice, so she only had a few minutes at best to see what he had to tell her.

She carefully pulled back the sealed flap and pulled out the pages .

_Parker,_

_God where do I even start with you. I thought writing your letter would be the easiest, 'cause I know I don't have to explain things to you like I do Nate, Sophie and Haridison, but now that I'm doin' this it's really just as hard._

_Okay so remember when I told you not to ask me about the worst thing I ever did when I worked for Damien Moreau? Well, it's because I didn't think you'd understand. You remember how that psychic broke you when he read you about your brother? Remember how devastating it was to know someone was somehow getting into your mind and reading your inner most thoughts?_

_It's Hell. So, that's why I've made the decision now to tell you what the worst thing I ever did was and I hope in the end you will try and understand and try to remember me without remembering what I was capable of._

_I'd prefer you didn't tell anyone else and I'm really hoping you can do that. Without me there, you may find it easy to tell and I don't need anyone else hating me anymore than I know you will or I already do. You see it's not that easy sometimes getting past our past. You think people don't understand you, but they do. They really do. And you sharing your secret about your brother brought everything home for all of us._

_You can understand how it is for Nate to lose his son. Hardison and Sophie can probably sympathize with him, but they will never know what it's like to lose a son… or a brother. I know what it's like to lose not just one brother, but three and a sister along with my mother._

_I lost my baby brother when he was around seven in a car accident along with my baby sister and my mom. I lost an older brother, Eaton to the war in Iraq that I didn't even know was my brother until I was thirteen. And then I lost another, Evan about five years ago. Evan and Eaton were twins and as different as night and day. Eaton was good and...well Evan wasn't. What I think will make it hard for you to understand is that I am the one who took Evan's life. I'm the one who stopped his heart, I'm the one responsible for ending him._

_I knew who he was and I still killed him because I'd been ordered by Moreau to do it. You see, Evan worked for Moreau and that's what lead me to him too. I'd become disillusioned by the military and Eaton couldn't understand that. He loved the military. But to me the things I'd had to do for the Army didn't seem any different than the things I'd be doing for Moreau. I was in a dark place then and Evan wasn't a good man. He had never been a good man. Eaton tried to help me, but he didn't understand. He'd tried to help Evan too. He was always trying to help Evan. Their being twins, they'd taken each other's place a lot growing up and Eaton tried to protect Evan, but he couldn't do it in the end. When I got the news that Eaton had been killed in Iraq I just lost all faith in the military and I ended up joining Evan… and joining Moreau._

_Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to justify my actions, because I'll never be able to. But Evan was just as evil as Moreau. At least he was until Moreau found out Evan was working against him and for his own agenda._

_Moreau ordered his death and he ordered me to do it. To prove myself. I didn't hesitate, Parker. You have to know that. He told me to kill my brother and I did it without a word. I blamed Evan for a lot of things and it was so easy to just come up behind him and slit his throat. No remorse…not then. Not until I'd learned the real reasons behind Moreau wanting him dead. Those reasons aren't really important anymore, what's done is done and I'll never be clean of that. I'll always have blood on my hands…always…_

_I just hope you can remember the good times we've all had, and know that I've tried hard since then to do what's right, whatever that is. I know you may not understand, but I needed to have at least one person who knows my worst secret. I know where I'm headed and I've made my peace with all of this a long time ago. I'm just trying to see my way clear enough so that I can at least make sure those I've left behind can find a little peace too._

_I'm not a good man, Parker. I don't think I've ever been a good man, not really. My father saw it in me and the only people I've ever been even a little open with is all of you. The team… Just remember I tried to do the right things in the end and I wouldn't trade a single minute of the time I was given with all of you._

_Sometimes the only way to stop hating myself is to just stop living. I'm not going into this with a death wish, but I'm not going out of my way to stop the bullet if it happens to find my heart. I've done a lot of things, good and bad, but the bad will always be what's remembered. I'm asking you to try and remember a couple of the things I've done that weren't so bad._

_I know telling you this story isn't a good thing, but I want you to know that you above all of the team, well you are the one I know will keep my secrets even if you don't agree with what I've done. I know you'll see me as both a bad man and a not so bad man. And right now that's all I can ask for._

_Take care Parker and remember..._

_There's nothing wrong with you…_

_There never was…_

_Eliot_

Parker looked at the pages in her hands as she sat there with her thoughts going in a million different directions. She didn't hate Eliot. She'd never hate him. And regardless of what he'd just told her, she knew there was more to it than just black and white. She wasn't stupid. What she couldn't figure out is how Eliot had missed it.

She folded the pages back and resealed the envelope after stuffing them back inside. She didn't cry, because right now she wasn't hating Eliot. She was mad. She was mad as hell at him for thinking he could only trust her with this secret.

He was wrong, she wasn't going to be able to keep his secret; at least not all of it. She'd keep it from him though. One thing for sure, Parker knew for a fact when they found him she was gonna strap a damn harness on his ass and throw him off this figgin' building. Because he was such an idiot. A god-damned idiot.

She smiled as she thought about seeing Eliot falling and maybe seeing a little fear in his eyes before he'd close them off and lean into her as she guided him down. Yeah, she was so gonna throw his worthless ass off the building when they got him back and then she was gonna burn this letter.

Because no matter what Eliot thought about himself, she would never be convinced he killed his own brother just because he'd been told to. No, Eliot was deep. He was friggin' volcano deep and if anyone needed a reason to kill, it was Eliot Spencer. No matter what he said, Eliot was trained to protect and at heart he always killed because someone else needed protecting. And what's more she knew he didn't know the truth. There was more here than he was telling her in his letter.

She reattached her harness and moved to the roof's edge slipping the letter back inside her shirt as she smiled deeply and made a promise to the man. She was gonna save his worthless ass even if he didn't think it was worth saving. She was gonna save Eliot she thought as she jumped off the building.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 4:00 AM Uzbekistan time

Roughly about 6:00 PM Boston time

After finishing his call to Vance, Quinn had received a call from his contact. If he could get his butt to the airfield the guy could fly him out right now and get him to his exchange plane in time to get to Boston before nightfall. Since Uzbekistan was about ten hours ahead of Boston, he'd arrive there when it was still today.

Sometimes he hated thinking in terms of days when he had to travel somewhere where the time zone was ahead. He always felt a little like he was time traveling when he could get back to the states before he'd actually left. He would call Vance and tell him exactly when to expect him once he was in the air, but right now he needed to hurry.

It was closing in on 4 am here and the streets were dark, so anyone traveling this time of night would be noticed if anyone else was up and awake to notice. He quickly stuffed his things in his duffle bag and used the back stairs to exit the hotel. He'd paid his bill ahead so there was no need for the process of checking out. No one in his line of work ever really worried about checking out anyway. You never knew for sure when you'd be having to make an exit, so rule of thumb was to pay for several days in advance.

As he slid behind the steering wheel of the jeep he'd rented, his mind took on the memories of his own life in the military and how things had once been good. Hell, he'd even been friends with Eliot once. He'd been on a couple of missions with the man when he was leading his own black team. The guy had been young, but he was good at what he did and he always made sure they all got out.

That was until Lucas Malone ended up on a mission with both Eliot and Quinn. That mission had been the beginning of the end of any friendship between the two. It had been the end for both of them. They never worked with a team again after that. Eliot went his way and Quinn went his. But they both knew it was because of what happened to Lucas.

Quinn sighed as he thought of that mission. If Kat knew just how well he and her brother had known Eliot she'd probably never agree to help the man. But it was because of Eliot that her brother had even been brought back to the states after… well just after.

Luke wasn't in black ops like Quinn or Eliot. He'd been a member of the 20th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, but he'd been assigned to help get him and Eliot to their destination. Quinn and Eliot were there in Bagdad to liberate a freedom fighter that was being held in one of the city's buildings.

Their driver had just let the two of them off at the spot where they'd meet up again in an hour when they were attacked. They were there for a combat operation and a sniper had found them. Luke went down first protecting his younger companion, the driver. Luke had been only 28. The same age as both himself and Eliot.

It had been Eliot who'd grabbed Luke and pulled him behind a broken wall for some protection, but the damage was done. Luke was gone and when the military got word back to the government the blame had been put on the mission and the mission's leader, Eliot.

Eliot had been leading the mission and it had just been a coincidence that Luke had been sent to guide them in. Quinn hadn't seen him since basic. Luke wanted to be an officer so he went one way while Quinn followed the dark path. He wanted to be the hero, the guy who swooped in undercover of darkness and rescued the hostages and made America proud.

Boy had he gotten an eye opener when he'd met Spencer and he'd told him what he was really in store for. Eliot had been the same age as Quinn, but he'd been doing this a lot longer and he was the Commander. He was a leader. Quinn learned what he could from Spencer, but he'd never completely agreed with the man on everything and when he'd lost Luke he blamed Eliot too.

Eliot had blamed himself as well. He took every man he lost as a personal loss. But Quinn knew now that it wasn't Eliot's fault anymore than it was Luke's. The person to blame was the sniper and he'd enjoyed every minute he'd spent taking that ne guy apart piece by piece. Spencer didn't know he'd found the last sniper later on or that he'd taken him out, but Quinn knew and he knew Luke knew. It had taken a long time, but he'd found one of the snipers and learned that Eliot had taken out the others when he'd been captured after that mission. So all of them were gone now and Luke had been avenged.

He sighed as he drove through the dark heading back to help a man he'd once blamed for taking his best friend. He didn't blame him anymore, but once things had been said it was hard to unsay them, and in a way Quinn was still angry. Eliot had taken the blame then just like he knew he'd still take it today. No matter what had happened, Quinn knew it wasn't Eliot's fault. The man had made sure Kat had a brother to bury and that was more than any other commander had ever done for his men back then from Quinn's experience with the military.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 6:30 PM

"Okay, Ford." Major Matthew Whitmore said as he sat across from the mastermind at his dining room table. "Let's go over what you know."

Hardison was still hard at work on his computers running his programs when the two military men arrived just as the Detective was about to leave. Nate asked the detective to stay though and go through what he could with the two military men as both himself and Sophie sat at the table with the them.

Nate had noticed that Parker was missing, but figured she'd sneak back in sometime as she probably needed time alone. She did that a lot and he was willing to look the other way. And he'd spotted the missing envelope from the coffee table just minutes after noticing her absence.

"All we know for sure is Eliot's not dead, but someone is and that person was elderly and related to Eliot. We also know that the people who took him are probably tied to the military." Nate said as he looked at Bonanno for verification.

At Bonanno's nod of agreement, Whitmore looked at Vance to see what he thought they should say with the cop in the room. "Well, we don't know who the remains could be, but we do have an idea who's behind this and it is tied to the military." He paused as he turned to look at Hardison who seemed to be busy at his workstation. "Do you want to have your guy there join us so we can get this all out in one sitting?"

"No need, I hear you guys." Hardison said without breaking his stride of typing on a different computer keyboard for each hand.

At Bonanno's chuckle, Whitmore raised his eyebrows. "Earbuds?" He asked, smiling.

Hardison just nodded as the others at the table watched. "How'd you guess?" He asked, as he finally stopped and turned around to face them.

"Heard you talking about running a program on Eliot's when we walked in." Vance said for Matthew. "But it wouldn't be hard to guess. Eliot's mentioned them once or twice. He's probably never told you how much he actually loves the things."

Hardison seemed surprised at the information, but then he smiled. "My boy like's my toys? Alright." He said nodding and turning back to his computers.

Nate couldn't help a smile at that either. Eliot really did love a lot of Hardison's toys. He just loved driving the guy crazy as well. Just like brothers did. He thought again about how much the two acted like brothers.

"Okay, so where do we start?" Vance asked. "You tell us what happened to Eliot piece by piece and we'll fill you in as we go along. And detective, I don't have to tell you that even though this is currently a criminal case, it won't be pursued as such. Both the victim here as well as the criminals are military and a military court will probably be handling this once when we get Eliot back."

Bonanno looked at the Colonel. Yeah, right he thought with a smirk. "Sure. Just like nothing ever happened, right? You swoop in rescue Eliot and somehow the criminals end up getting away or conveniently dying?" He asked as he thought about this whole mess. He didn't want to admit it, but once he'd have argued jurisdiction. Yeah, once, but not now. He'd let the military do what they needed to do in this case. As long as he didn't see anything or know how this all ended up, he could plainly apply plausible deniability.

"Yeah exactly like that detective." Whitmore answered for them. "Eliot may not be active military, but just in case anyone needs a cover, he's always been listed as inactive and available for recall at anytime. And despite what the general military does, I take care of my guys; good or bad."

"And which is Eliot?" Parker asked coming up to the table. "Because I won't let anyone sit in on this unless you are all in this to get him back no matter what."

The others were surprised by her sudden appearance. Nate quickly recovered and noted that the girl looked better than she'd looked earlier. Like she'd made an important decision about something. He just wondered what she'd found in her letter. He glanced around her and he could plainly see the envelope was now laying back on the coffee table. He smiled at her as he took in her whole demeanor. Yes she'd definitely made up her mind about something and he could only guess that whatever Eliot had said to her, it had renewed her determination in finding the man.

Whitmore stood up to take in the girl his wife had told him a few things about via Eliot. She was a little thing of a girl, but he agreed with Eliot. She could hold her own here. He could see it in her stance. This girl knew what was going to go down and she knew exactly everything she needed to know. He smiled as he motioned for her to take his seat and he moved to sit in the next one.

Parker sat in his offered seat, but she didn't relax. "I mean it. If anyone at this table is thinking of keeping any of the others in the dark, we end this now. I don't want anyone here who isn't going to help Eliot or tell us the truth. No lies, no secrets. I know Eliot's done a lot of bad things, and that this is because of one of them. I also know it's his brother who has him. His not so dead brother."

Parker took in the surprised looks she received from everyone at the the table. She'd had time to think after reading Eliot's letter and she knew that even if Eliot had killed one brother, having a twin meant a lot of things and she knew something Eliot hadn't said in his letter that had her thinking. They all had ties to the military and Damien Moreau. He'd killed his brother alright, but she knew he hadn't killed Evan. Eliot had killed Eaton. And she knew Eliot didn't know which one he'd killed or he'd be behaving differently in his guilt.

No, if Eliot knew he'd actually killed the good brother, he'd be in worse shape in the guilt department. So the one thing they needed here was the truth and they all needed to know so they could make a plan. So Nate could make a plan. She looked at the mastermind and hoped he understood just how important the truth was here. The truth was what they needed.

"Parker's right. The truth, no likes or half truths here. We need the truth. And since Parker has figured out a few things, perhaps we should het her lead this discussion." Nate said as he motioned for her to take the floor. He knew she needed this and he knew once they had the truth then they could all focus on stealing their Eliot back.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

_Ten Thousand People Look My Way_

_They Can't See The Way I Feel_

_Nobody Even Cares To Try_

Roughly between 7:00 and 7:30 PM

"Go ahead Parker," Nate encouraged the young thief to fill them in on what she had to say. "I'm guessing you've found out something important, so please tell us." He watched the woman suddenly shift a bit in her seat as the group around the table now focused their attention on her.

"Okay." She paused as she turned to Whitmore and Vance. "I know you are his friends…from his past, but you don't know Eliot now…the way we do." She said, indicating herself along with Nate and Sophie. "And because of the way I know him, I've figured out that the person who has Eliot is his brother, Evan."

Matthew Whitmore turned to look at Vance before he returned his attention back to Parker. "Parker? Is that your name?" He asked her.

"Yes."

"Okay, Parker. Why don't you tell us how you know about Eliot's brother, Evan?" He asked as he rested his hands on the table top. To all looking he appeared to be interested in the thief's interaction with the group, when in reality he was actually interested in exactly how this girl knew about Evan. No one, not even Eliot had known what actually went down with the man.

"Eliot told me." She replied simply.

This time it was Vance who leaned forward to rest his hands on the table top and address her. "Eliot told you?"

"Eliot…our Eliot told you about his brother?" Sophie also asked. At Parker's nod of affirmation, she then asked, "When exactly did he tell you this, sweetie?"

"Just now. When I was up on the roof."

Whitmore and Vance both turned to look at Nate for further explanation. "What is she talking about?" Whitmore asked the mastermind. "How could he have told…told her that just now?"

Nate took a moment to put what Parker was saying into perspective. She'd obviously just read Eliot's letter to her on the roof so logically she was saying Eliot had most likely written the clues in said letter. There was something there where he had told her about Evan that gave her this opinion. Then it hit him. He knew what she was saying. "Eliot told you about his worst thing, didn't he Parker?" He asked the young woman gently.

Everyone turned back to focus again on Parker. "Yes he did. And I'm not going to go into all of it, mostly because he asked me not to, but I can tell you that it leads me to believe that it was Evan." She turned to look at Vance and Whitmore. "And you two would know why I believe that, wouldn't you?"

Both men leaned back in their chairs as they regarded this woman; this team. Eliot had been right, Whitmore thought. This team, his team was very smart. Together they were good, really good. He smiled at Vance as he saw the Colonel agreed with his thoughts.

"Eliot picked a good team here." Vance said for the both of them. "You're right Parker, it's probably Evan that has Eliot and it's because Eliot was sent to kill him."

"Kill his brother?" Sophie asked, forgetting for the moment how the thief had known about his brother. "Why in the world would Eliot be sent to kill his brother?"

Vance looked at Bonanno who had been sitting quietly next to Nate not joining the conversation, nor ignoring it. The detective smiled at the Colonel as he knew what the look meant.

"I think this is my exit cue. I'll be in touch Nate." He said getting up and as Nate nodded, understanding what was being said. "I umm, well, you do know if you need anything, just call. I'll put this case aside for a little while, just in case…in case something new arises." He looked directly at Vance. "If you get my drift Colonel."

Michael Vance stood and reached across the table to shake the detective's hand as he replied, "I get you detective. And it was…a pleasure meeting you."

As the two men shook hands, Parker watched Nate as he watched her. Later, she thought to herself. Later she'd tell Nate about the worst thing, but only Nate. And only because he would understand and not condemn Eliot for the choices he'd once had to make.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Somewhere in Eliot's Past_

_Eliot slowly opened his eyes, groaning as he felt the pain behind his eyelids. He had a massive headache, to say the least. And he felt pain all over his body. He'd woken many times in his young life to pain, but for some reason this time he knew it was quite possibly the last time for him._

_His head was hanging down, his hair hanging down hiding his face. He tried to move his right hand to run through his hair to remove it from his eyes, but his hand refused to move. He slowly lifted his head to see his hands handcuffed over him. He tried to focus more on the chain of the cuffs as his vision continued to blur._

_He was suspended from a chain threaded through the long chain of the handcuffs. He had no shirt and no shoes or socks. He was clad only in his fatigue pants and his toes barely scraped the floor as he gently swayed from the movement of his head._

_"_ _Crap," he said to himself. "Way to go Spencer."_

_His memory slowly came back to him as he took in his situation. He had been circling around the perimeter of the abandoned building after he'd left his team in search of the sniper or snipers that had just killed two of his men and were keeping the rest at bay. Well, they weren't all his men._

_Sgt. Lucas Malone and Pvt. Anthony Nelson had been assigned to escort Eliot's team to the location of a freedom fighter that was actually more than that to the U.S. government. The two men had been shot by snipers and even though Eliot had tried to get Malone to safety, he'd failed to save him and his driver. The two had been shot and killed in front of Eliot and the newest member to his team, Quinn._

_It turned out Quinn and Malone had been the best of friends before the military, and that made it even harder for Eliot to accept the two men's lost lives. He'd tried, he really had, but he couldn't save either man._

_He'd called his team of six men to hold their positions until they could locate the snipers. He knew there had to be at least two because both Malone and Nelson went down at the same time. He'd heard the sound of each shot and knew they were simultaneous shots._

_He knew it would be useless to try and rescue their man before they'd eliminated the threat of the snipers, so he'd left Quinn with the two dead men and headed around the building in search of a way in to see if he could reach a high point to locate them._

_That was the last thing he remembered until waking up like this. He could only hope that Quinn and the others were still holding their positions and not trying to come after him. Because obviously it had been a trap. This whole mission had been orchestrated to lure Eliot and his team into being picked off one by one._

_He couldn't have anymore men's blood on his hands right now, so he truly hoped they'd either remained holding or had fallen back. He tried to assess his current situation the best he could, but he was having a hard time thinking with the headache and he knew he had a concussion._

_Which was probably the least of his problems. His arms hurt from being suspended, so he knew he hadn't been hanging there for very long. He took in the blood slowly oozing down his arms from the metal cuffs biting into the skin of his wrists. He knew it wouldn't be long before he didn't feel his arms as they grew numb from the position they were forced into._

_He heard the metalic click of a key in a lock and moved his head to the only door in the room. He hadn't noticed the door before and cursed himself for not checking out his surroundings better. He was better trained than that, and could only put the blame on the concussion frazzling his brain cells._

_He watched as two men dressed in camoflage fatiques came into the room. One man carried two large buckets while the other pushed a cart in front of him. Both men were of Muslim descent and Eliot knew they were the enemy. Not because they were Muslim, but because they were dressed in the uniform of a terrorist cell he'd been tracking in this region._

_Every group had their signs of individuality, and these two showed theirs in the markings on their shoulders. They were related to HAMAS – a group around since the late eighties. Eliot knew they were probably a branch of the main group, but just as dangerous._

_The two men for the most part seemed to ignore him as they went about their business. The one with the buckets set them aside and helped the other to set up what appeared to be a tripod and camera. Great, he thought. I'm about to be in the movies._

_The first man, that had been pushing the cart, moved away from the other one setting up the camera and moved his cart closer to Eliot, but not close enough for him to have access to it. Just close enough that he could see the equipment laid out upon it's surface._

_Neither man spoke to him and he was in no mood to engage them in conversation. He knew what was to come and in a way he was grateful. It meant the rest of his team had gotten away and he was alone. If these men knew where his team was, he'd be dead._

_But since he knew what they planned, he knew they didn't have his team or any information on his team. He took comfort in that and hoped his team had headed back to their main camp. He didn't need to worry about them right now. It was best if he only had himself to worry about._

_The second man turned the camera to face Eliot and he saw the little red light flicker on as the man moved to pick up one of the buckets he'd previously set down. He headed over to where Eliot was hanging and spoke in clear unbroken english. Eliot was surprised at the man's perfect speech._

_"_ _We need to know where your team is, Mr. Spencer."_

_Eliot was also surprised the man knew his name. "I don't know what you're talking about." He growled back at the man._

_The man smiled. It wasn't a reassuring smile to Eliot. "I think you do know what I'm talking about. You see, we knew you were coming. We sent for you. And now you're here. But we need the rest of your team. You and your team have been an especially painful thorn in our side for the last year and it is time to remove that thorn, Mr. Spencer." The man took one step closer and threw the contents of the bucket on Eliot._

_He sputtered, expecting the liquid to burn him, or at the least sting, but he just spit the water out of his mouth as he realized it was just that. Water. Ice cold, but just water. He watched the man set the now empty bucket back down and walk back for the second one._

_As the man returned with the second bucket, Eliot thought okay, this is new. He watched as the man threw the contents of the second bucket of ice water on his torso and felt the cold penetrate his heated skin._

_As he tried to shake the wet clumpy tendrils of his long hair from his eyes, he saw the first man move closer to his side. Eliot's hair was not military issue, but nothing about him and his team was military issue. They worked for the government but they didn't have to follow their guides. And this was one time Eliot had wished he had cut his hair after he'd been told that he should by Colonel Vance. Vance was the man he got his missions from, but he no longer had to answer to him._

_Eliot and his team were black. They answered to no one and they did what no other team could do. They got the job done when others failed. They were the last line in defense. They weren't called upon to make the military look good in their missions; they were called upon when the military's hands were tied by legal restrictions._

_While the government had to follw guidelines even in remote black operations; Eliot and his team did not. They moved in quietly under darkness and they got the job done. They weren't known, they weren't acknowledged and if they died, no one hung a flag over their casket or gave them a 21 gun salute. They ended up buried where they died, unless another team member could get them out._

_Delta, Seals, Rangers they were the teams in the news working for Uncle Sam. Eliot's team never got a writeup in the newspaper. They moved in and out before either side knew they'd been there._

_Geting caught meant that Eliot would die. He wouldn't give up his team and they wouldn't come back for him. He was on his own and that was the way it was. He'd known that when he'd taken this team. Vance would not come for him and no one would miss him, so it didn't matter how much torture Eliot took it wasn't going to do these men any good._

_Eliot slowly raised his face to look at both men through the strands of his long wet hair and slowly smiled a smile reserved for only the worst in this business. "Bring on your best. You know as well as I do, I die here and no one will come for me. But they will come for you. Go ahead, do it." He taunted the two men._

_The first man looked nervously at the second man. He stood there with the knife held tightly in his hands, but waited for the second man to tell him what to do. Obviously the second was the leader of the two._

_"_ _That's too bad. I had hoped we could end this quickly, but be that as it may I guess you are correct." The second man spoke to Eliot._

_He nodded at the other man who moved over and with a hesitant step he pulled the knife back and brought it forth in a rush burying it to the hilt in Eliot's side as he tried not to cry out at the sudden intense pain._

_"_ _This is just the beginning of the worst I am capable of Mr. Spencer. I so hope you can see that."_

 _"_ _Who are you?" Eliot managed to get out past the pain as he took in the man's face swimming before him._

 _"_ _You can call me… the Doctor."_

_And with those words, the second man pulled the dripping blade from Eliot's flesh and buried it again in his other side with a sickening thud. Eliot tried, but this time the cry of pain was ripped from his throbbing throat and the man pulled the blade out and buried it again for the third time._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 7:30 PM

Katharine sat next to Eliot's bed as she watched the man stir in his unconscious state. He was dreaming or possibly he was remembering something. Something painful by the look on his face. She stood and walked over to the bed and reached down to move a strand of his long hair from across his face.

She didn't know how to alleviate his nightmares. She was torn; she knew she could ease his physical pain with the drugs, but she didn't know how to help with his emotional discomfort. She wanted so badly to touch him, to let him know he was safe, but she didn't really know if he was safe. She didn't know if either of them were safe.

She turned her head to look out the window across the room to see the sun was slowly setting and soon it would be dark outside. It was still too early to give him another dose of medication to help him sleep, but as soon as she could she would. She would sit here all night if she had to, because for some odd reason this man had wrapped her around his finger and he hadn't even tried all that hard to do it.

She wanted to help him, but something told her that everything he had once been was tied to everything he was now and it all involved the pain he'd been through. The pain he kept inside pushed down deep. This man had a lot of emotional baggage even if he didn't realize it, and because of that baggage he was now in this position. Shot and closer to death than she liked.

She surprised herself at feeling the intense hatred for whoever had shot this man and put him in this bed. She reached down and took his left hand in hers and felt him instantly grasp her hand back in his sleep. He seemed to cling to her as if she was his anchor in whatever was happening to him.

She watched the lines of pain slowly fade from his face as he slipped back towards a dreamless sleep, so she continued to hold his hand far longer than was strictly necessary. As she watched his pain ease and his eyes settle down behind his closed lids, she realized just how young he looked in sleep. She was intensely grateful for the fact he seemed to know she wasn't going to hurt him even if she invaded his secrets.

That was when she also realized that she knew the two of them couldn't be here come morning. She had to figure a way to get this man out of this house before morning. She had the strong feeling that something bad was coming and she needed to get him to safety. Wherever that may be.

She jerked in fear as she turned toward the sound of the door to the room opening. Her fear only lessened slightly at the sight of Dr. Richards walking into the room. She didn't fully trust this man and he wasn't supposed to be here right now.

"Dr. what are you doing here?" She asked nervously.

Mark Richards took in the sight of Katharine holding onto Spencer's hand as the man lay sleeping the bed. He slowly moved his eyes from the sight to focus on her eyes. He saw it then. Spencer had gotten to her too. Damn the man always did have a way with women.

He smiled to himself a little. Eliot didn't recognize him when he'd first seen him, but he should have. Of course Mark had had a little plastic surgery done, but he hadn't changed that drastically; and he hadn't changed his voice; and he'd been surprised that Eliot hadn't recognized him.

Then again Eliot was in pain, and probably wasn't really thinking about anything from his past right now. Besides it had been a while since Mark Richards had been known as The Doctor.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

_I Spend My Life And Sell My Soul On The Road_

_And I'm Still In The Dark_

_'_ _Cause I Can't Seem To Find The Light Alone_

7:00 – 8:00 PM

_Still somewhere in Eliot's past_

_Eliot tried the best he could to hide the pain, but the scream was ripped fro_ _m his aching throat anyway. The knife wounds still oozed blood down his torso and the top of his fatiques were soaked with his blood already. But those wounds were the least of his problems._

_The man calling himself The Doctor walked over to Eliot and threw another bucket of ice cold water on his already dripping body as the other man, his willing helper, then reached out and placed the end of the cattle prod against one of his bloody wounds. The jolt of electricity running through him was more than enough to ensure his wounds would continue to bleed out as well as render him totally incapable of fighting back._

_Eliot had been in a lot of nasty situations already in his young life, but this was the first time he felt he would quite probably not make it out alive. He wasn't afraid to die; he'd made his peace with God a long time ago on that front. But what bothered him the most, was the fact he'd never be able to see his sister to explain to her why he'd left home. He'd just up and left her and their father that night in late May and he hadn't been back but once. Once…_

_Just once he'd gone home right after his basic training and it was to find out that the girl he had once loved, Aimee hadn't waited for him. He'd known she shouldn't wait, because he'd just left everyone, but it had still hurt._

_He'd found out from Emma that Aimee had moved with her family to Kentucky and that she was married now. She'd gone and gotten married when he hadn't returned home to her. He really didn't blame her, but he had kind of hoped she'd still be there. He'd given her a promise ring and told her that no matter what he loved her. And he had, as much as Eliot was capable of._

_So after that Eliot knew he'd been abandoned by everyone now, his mom and siblings, then his father. Only Emma had looked for him. Waited for him. Searched for him. But she had her own life to live and he'd left her with their dad. And for that he was sorry and he had thought he'd be able to help her out someday even if it was just with money, and he had. He'd send her money whenever he could, but he'd never explained everything about his life, his job. He never told her anything about what he did. What he'd become._

_Emma never knew about their brothers Evan and Eaton, either. When Eliot had found out, he'd kept his promise to his mother and kept silent. He, to this day hadn't said a word, but he'd hope to be able to share this with Emma someday. And now it looked like that wasn't gonna happen. So just someone else you've let down, Spencer. He thought. Just another let down. More pain you've dispensed._

_As the cattle prod made connection with his body again, he jerked and found himself just wishing for the end already. And just as that welcoming darkness seemed to be coming to claim him, The Doctor reached out and slapped him several times until Eliot was forced to meet the man's eyes. He'd never forget those eyes. Dark brown pools of emptiness, he thought._

_"_ _Dying's too easy for you, Mr. Spencer. I can't let that happen before I have the answers I need." He reached out and Eliot felt the prick of the needle as it pierced his skin several times near his wounds._

_Eliot wondered just exactly what the man was doing. Why inject him there if he was gonna just kill him? He felt the numbness creeping through his stomach muscles as they slowly relaxed and he realized the man had just numbed his nerve endings. He'd just given him a local. He watched as the man reached out for something on that damn torture cart and saw him pick up a needle threaded with black suture thread._

_He blinked then he blinked again. Slowly he looked deep into the man's eyes. "What… for?" He croaked out as he watched the man slowly start to stitch his wounds._

_"_ _I told you, dying's too easy for you. I need you to tell me what I need to know and you can't do that dead. After I have what I want then you're free to meet the God you Americans pray to. But until then, I will enjoy sewing you up over and over again until I have what I want. " He paused in his work to meet Eliot's eyes. "I'm not heartless, but I am determined. And I have all the time in the world Mr. Spencer. All the time in the world."_

_Eliot blinked again as he watched the man make another expert stitch. "I'm…I'm… not gonna tell you anything. I wouldn't… wouldn't… know what to tell you anyway. My team….my team doesn't work that way." He paused as he swallowed trying to regain his steady voice. "They would have fallen back… at my not returning and I don't know where… they are by now."_

_The man smiled as he finished the first stab wound and moved to the second. "Then for your sake, you'd better hope they try and rescue you. Because once my friend here tires, he'll just as soon slit your throat as you arrogant Americans would say."_

_The other man stood with the cattle prod still in his hands just waiting to continue with his work as he smiled at The Doctor's words. Eliot couldn't help cringing slightly as he took in the look. "So I'm… I'm guessing The Doctor is a literal reference. You are actually a… a… real doctor."_

_The man looked up and smiled. "But of course. We aren't all barbarians. My mother was an American woman, I studied at Cornell. My father could afford the very best."_

_This surprised Eliot. "Then you have ties to both…both countries, so why are you on this side?"_

_The man sneered at Eliot as he began work on the third wound. "My mother was an American whore who ran away from my father. She never wanted me. Let's just say, I know all of your ways as well as my own and they have come in quite handy in my missions. But my loyalties lie with my father and his loyalties lie with his country." He cut off the thread from the last stitch. "There Mr. Spencer good as new, now if you do not wish to mess up my handiwork, I'd suggest telling me what I want to know." He stepped back laying the needle on the cart as the other man moved to stand in front of Eliot once again._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly about 7:30 PM

Dr. Mark Richards stood taking in the way Katharine Wakefield stood next to his patient. The mighty Eliot Spencer. He felt himself cringe inwardly at the disgust he could see in her eyes. She wasn't hiding her dislike of him very well, he thought.

He slowly smiled as he took a couple more steps into the room to stand at the foot of Eliot's bed. He had to give it to this woman, she was a lot stronger than he'd first suspected. She would be tough to get around.

When he'd gotten her to assist with Eliot's care, he hadn't thought she'd be that hard to entice with the money offered them. He knew she could use the money and she really didn't have any family to take up her personal time. But he should have known better. She was the only nurse on the night shift he hadn't gotten into bed yet. He'd thought maybe he could remedy that during their stay here, but as he said, he should have known better.

This woman was never going to see him, the man. She'd been an enigma since starting work at Mass Gen, but he'd put that off to her playing hard to get. Now he realized she was much more than a nurse. She would have to be taken care of if he was to complete his mission. Besides why would he want to attach himself to an American woman like his mother. No, he needed to stick to his mission.

A mission that had started over eight years ago when he'd first faced Eliot Spencer. The mission hadn't been about getting Spencer to talk; no even his compatriots understand this man and his determination. Eliot Spencer had become very well known in the short time he'd been leading his team in missions against Mark's homeland.

No, his mission had not been to kill Eliot Spencer. It had been to save him. It had always been to save him. His mission was to keep the man alive. His country needed Eliot Spencer because he was the best at what he did. His family wanted him so they could have the best on their side. His job had been to convert Spencer's alligence. Make him appear to be a traitor.

His mission didn't include Evan Chapman or his petty little revenge plots either. Mark had not worked all these years to get himself located at the best hospitals around the world as he followed Spencer, to just to lose him to something as petty as a family's revenge.

Eliot Spencer was worth more alive than dead. His father wanted this man alive and come hell or not, Mark Richards did not deny what his father wanted. He was going to save Eliot Spencer from Evan Chapman. And then… well and then he would have the glorious satisfaction of being the one to take Eliot Spencer down. He would smile as he ran the knife across the man's throat for what he'd done to Mark's country as well as his family. The man was still considered a prize and Mark was going to bring the prize to his father's doorstep.

Yes, Eliot was about to be saved, but only until he was safely away from this place. Once Mark had Eliot where he wanted him, he would make sure that the man got exactly what he deserved. Because the man had brought nothing but pain to Mark's life. The man was trouble and everywhere he went he left nothing but pain and blood and chaos in his wake. Soon that would end.

"I'm here to help you Katharine."

Katharine, still holding Eliot's hand, turned a confused look to the doctor. "What do you mean?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Evan Chapman means to kill Mr. Spencer. And I do not want his death on my conscience. I will not let him die. I am the doctor here and I will keep him alive as long as I can."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _"_ _Mr. Spencer, you are only prolonging the enevitable. I've already told you that I will not let you die. I will keep you alive for as long as I can. I am The Doctor."_

_Eliot's head was spinning. He was having trouble concentrating on the man's words. What was he saying?_

Eliot jerked at the sound of the voice seeping into his subconscious and his memory. He felt the pull on his hand as he realized something was wrong here. Terribly wrong.

Katharine felt Eliot jerking against the hold she had on his hand. Before she could react, his other hand shot out and gripped her hand holding his. His eyes shot open and he looked up at her confusion present in his stare. Slowly as he focused in on her face he turned away from her to look at the man standing next to her at the foot of his bed.

The man was… Eliot blinked. The man did not look like the one from his memories. From his nightmares, but that voice. The voice was his. He'd missed it earlier, but now he could see it. There were drastic changes to his look, his face. But the eyes were the same. Those dark eyes that held a lifetime of torture in them.

The man was here and he was real. "It's been a long time, Doctor." Eliot rasped out as his throat protested. He swallowed several times as he watched the man. "It's been a very long time."

"Aww, I'm glad to see you finally recognize me, Mr. Spencer." The doctor said as he smiled slowly at Eliot.

Katharine looked between the two men as she realized that Mark had just used Eliot's real name. "What's going on here?" She asked.

Without looking at Katharine, Eliot spoke to her. "This isn't just a doctor, Katharine. He's _The_ Doctor. A man well known in my military days. A man that should by all accounts be dead. I did see you're man kill you, you know. Just before I killed him."

Mark Richards, The Doctor, slowly smiled as he took in Eliot's statement. "Yes, Benny. He was a good soldier. Very faithful to my father. But he didn't understand the dynamics of my father's plan. He was just another willing soldier." Mark paused as he thought back to that day in that abandoned building. "Quite the sniper though, wasn't he? Took out two of your men before you even knew what was happening. And he was quite good with torture techniques, too."

Eliot remembered the two men that had been killed. He'd never forget that. He carried that with him everyday. "He wasn't the only sniper there, but yes, he was good. Yet in the end, his… skills were useless."

"Yes they were."

Eliot finally turned to look at Katharine. "You should step out of the room for a minute, Kat. I think the doctor and I have to have a little talk."

Katharine realized that would be the worst thing possible right now. Besides she was angry. "No."

Eliot raised his eyebrows at her answer. "What did you say?"

"I said no. I'm not leaving. There is so much crap going on here, that I want some answers. I need some answers. I'm guessing this is all black op shit and I can understand government secrets, but there is so much going on here, that I'm beginning to need a playcard to know who all the players are. And if they're the good guys…or the bad guys." Katharine pulled her hand from Eliot's grasp and turned to look Mark.

I'm guessing you are an asshole from Eliot's past, a bad guy, and that's fine. I'm sure he kicked your ass once and will again, but right now he's my patient. Not yours. Not anymore. You say you can help us, then help us. But until then I need to know what the hell is going on here. I'll be damned if I'm just gonna step outside." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest and took in both men staring at her.

It was then as she turned to Eliot and looked in his crystal blue eyes, that she realized Eliot had just called her Kat. She'd never told him that. Only Luke and Travis called her that.

"You called me Kat." She looked at the way he was suddenly avoiding her eyes. "Why did you call me that? No one calls me that anymore. Well almost no one." Then it dawned on her. "You know who I am don't you?"


End file.
